Southwest Atlanta Woman Wins $577,000 in Georgia Lottery's Power 7s

A southwest Atlanta woman has won $577,000 in the Georgia Lottery Power 7s instant game.

Sharel Allen, 40, a restaurant supervisor, purchased her ticket Saturday at the Cascade Shell and Food Mart at 3580 Cascade Rd. just across from the Cascade Starbucks, according to a news release Tuesday afternoon from the Georgia Lottery. She was awarded her prize Tuesday at Georgia Lottery headquarters.

“I scratched the ticket at a table inside of the store,” Allen said. “I couldn’t believe it, so I showed the clerk.”

After calling several family members to share the good news, Allen said she’s still in shock.

“I plan to pay off my mortgage, my car note and my credit card bills,” she said.

She also intends to buy new cars for her children, ages 21 and 18. 

Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned more than $12.7 billion to the state of Georgia for education, according to the Georgia Lottery release. All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational programs, including Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship Program and Georgia’s Pre-K Program.

More than 1.3 million students have received HOPE, and more than 1.1 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary pre-kindergarten program.