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Georgia hardhat is Mega-thrilled with $270M Mega Millions jackpot win
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Sunday, February 24th 2008, 3:29 AM

An ironworker who lives in a trailer in a Georgia backwater says he is the sole winner of the $270 million Mega Millions jackpot - and wasted no time turning his back on his old life.

"I used to live in a trailer. And I used to be an ironworker," Bobby Harris, 47, of tiny Portal in the Peach State, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Saturday.

"I called my boss this morning and told him I was quitting," Harris said. "He understood."

Harris lives with his wife, Tonya, in a mobile home on a road called Cowboy Way in the tiny town of 600, about 200 miles from Atlanta.

Records show they had declared bankruptcy twice.

Bobby picked the numbers and Tonya, a homemaker, bought the two $1 tickets just a few hours before the Friday night drawing, according to their daughter Felicia Williamson, 32.

It was the couple's first time playing Mega Millions, and Bobby used the birth dates of five of their six grandchildren to pick the winning numbers: 7, 12, 13, 19, 22. The all-important Mega Ball number of 10 - which made the difference between taking home $250,000 or $270 million - was chosen randomly for the month October, Williamson said.

"It's overwhelming. He had no clue he'd won until I called him this morning," Williamson said, explaining that her father cried when he realized they really had struck it lucky.

"We're still in shock. It was much needed, in every way. We get by but we live week to week."

The couple's windfall dashed the dreams of millions of New Yorkers who had hoped to grab the humongous prize.

Anticipation had been at a fever pitch for the drawing because there had been no jackpot winner since Jan. 4. The prize had grown until it was tied for the fifth largest in the game's history.

Bobby Harris said he and his wife, who have two daughters who also live in Portal, plan to take the winnings as a lump sum when he drives to Georgia Lottery Headquarters to cash the ticket tomorrow.

That would leave him with $164 million before taxes.

If the couple had taken the annuity option, they would have gotten $10.3 million annually for 26 years. That's quite a change for the couple, who filed for bankruptcy in 1994 and 2000, according to records.

As news trucks rolled up in front of their modest trailer home Saturday, the couple was clearly staggered by their newfound fame - and fortune.

"The CNN truck is pulling up now," Bobby Harris said.

"I'm too happy and confused right now to think too clear."

Georgia Lottery officials said they can't confirm the Harrises are the winners until they turn in the ticket. But that wasn't stopping the celebration in Portal.

"Everybody here's very excited. The whole town is excited," said Georgiana Mulrooney, a clerk at Clyde's Market on Highway 80 where the winning ticket was bought.

"From what I hear about her she really deserves the win. She's a sweet woman and does a lot of hard work."

"She's excited. She's very excited. Wouldn't you be?" said Bonnie Graham, who runs the local diner, City Cafe, and saw the town's new celebrities Saturday morning. "We are all tickled to death for her. She's a good person. She will help anybody."

"It's been a wild old day for her. She just said it hasn't really sunk in," Graham added.

There were 42 second-place winners - including four in New York - who matched every number but the Mega Ball. But they get a relatively measly $250,000 each.

Still, New Yorkers were in a generous mood Saturday, dispensing advice to the Harrises on how to handle their fortune.

"I don't mind if the guy is from Georgia. His dollar is as good as mine," said retired construction worker Patsy Servidio, 75. "But you have to get a good lawyer once you have the winning ticket in your hand."

There's always Tuesday's drawing, of course, but New Yorkers may have to scale back their fantasies a bit. The jackpot is dropping down to a mere $12 million.

That would leave him with $164 million before taxes.

Which leaves him with what? Half that amount? Which is equal to just under 1/3rd of the headline....ah reality.......

the lotto is nothing but a tax for the poor

I seem to always hear that the winners "have taken the lump sum". Does anyone ever take the full amount over 25 years? I suppose you should if you were an old timer, but if you were relatively young, why would you take the lump sum?

The really big winners are the students of Georgia who receive a portion of every Georgia Lottery ticket sold! Since the inception of the Lottery, more than 1 million students have had the opportunity to attend colleges and technical colleges through Georgia's HOPE scholarship program and more than 850,000 four-year-olds have a chance to get a jump start on their education by attending a high quality Pre-kindergarten program.

If winning the lottery is your "dream"...you may want to consider that you're setting the bar for your dreams too low.