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Grandkids' Birthdays Make Grandpa Millionaire

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By DORIE TURNER, The Associated Press

Published: February 26, 2008

ATLANTA - An ironworker and his wife presented the winning ticket for a $275 million Mega Millions jackpot on Monday and said they'll use part of the windfall to replace their mobile home with a new house in coastal Georgia.
Robert Harris said he picked the winning numbers from Friday's multistate drawing - 7, 12, 13, 19 and 22, plus the Mega Ball number 10 - by using his grandchildren's birthdays.

"It's awesome," Harris, 47, told a room full of reporters after receiving the ceremonial big check from lottery officials. "We have been very blessed."

The jackpot is the largest in the history of the 15-year-old Georgia Lottery and the third-largest in Mega Millions history, lottery officials said.

Besides building a house near the town of Portal, Harris and his wife, Tonya, said they plan to buy a new four-wheel-drive truck first thing Tuesday morning. Other plans include sending their grandchildren to college, Tonya Harris said.

"We're not gonna change," she said, wearing warmup pants and flip-flops. "I'm too country."

The couple spent Sunday night at the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta before arriving at the lottery headquarters to claim their prize.

They said they were deciding whether to take the lump sum, $167 million before taxes, or annual payments.
Mega Millions tickets are sold in California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington state. The twice-weekly drawing is done in Atlanta.

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