By Stephanie Johns
Staff Writer

After years of playing the Georgia Lottery, Buckhead resident Denny Bleau won big: $1 million big.
He spent $10 on one ticket for the $1,000,000 Benjamins game at Katy’s Korner.
Scratching off the ticket revealed a winner.
His reaction: “I’m thinking it’s pretty good.”
“I got kind of light headed,” he said. “I pinched myself about five times to see if I would wake up.”
Once his wife Kathy got home from work he said he sat her down and handed her the ticket, asking her to confirm it was a winner.
“I thought she was going to pass out,” he said. “I knew it was a winner then.”
The two traveled to Cherokee, N.C. for a relaxing weekend.
While this wasn’t his first time playing this particular game it was his first time winning big with it. He added that this was the first top prize won in that game.
According to the Georgia Lottery, tickets for this game went on sale Feb. 19. Odds of winning a $1 million top prize are 1:1,680,000.
Over the years Bleau has won big before: $500, $5,000, $10,000 and now this.
With his $10,000 winnings from two years ago they went on an Alaskan cruise.
Bleau said he has played the lottery “every now and then” since the games first started. When pressed, he admitted that he plays just about every day.
“I buy tickets and if I win, I buy more tickets,” he said. “I’m playing with their money.”
He visited the lottery center in Augusta on Monday and made arrangements to collect his winnings, which should be in the bank this week.
He plans on using a portion of it to pay off all of their bills and then save the rest.
He currently works as a digital technician at AT&T installing 911 centers and T1 lines. After he retires in about six years he and Kathy plan to travel.
When asked where they would like to visit, Bleau replied, “Everywhere we haven’t been.”
He added that his wife has visited Germany and that he is dying to go there himself.

Printed in the February 28, 2013