Newton County found itself with a new millionaire after a Covington man won a Georgia Lottery scratch-off game.

 Randy Nolley, 50, said he had occasionally played in the lotto, but had never won any large amount of money before.

 "It's not a regular thing," he said, of buying the $20 scratch-off ticket. "Everybody was talking about it, so I decided to try."

 When Nolley took the ticket home and scratched it off, he couldn't believe it.

 "I dropped to the floor," he said. "I thought I was going to have a heart attack."

 He showed it to his wife, who started screaming and jumping up and down.

 Nolley claimed his prize Tuesday, deciding to accept a lump-sum, which reduced it by about a third, he said. He was the second reported winner of the Georgia Lottery's 15th Anniversary Millionaire Extravaganza game, according to the Georgia Lottery Web site.

 Nolley said he hadn't made any purchases or plans yet of what to do with the money, but that he would continue his job as a hospital equipment sterilizer at CR Bard where he's worked for 29 years.

 His family was excited for him, he said, especially his 10-year-old grandson.

 "He said, 'I'm going to have a good Christmas!'" Nolley recalled, laughing.

 His co-workers and neighbors have also been congratulatory and friendly, he said.

 "I told my wife, everybody knows me now, everybody's being nice," he said.

 Manish Lakhani, manager of the CITGO Food Mart on U.S. Highway 278 that sold the winning ticket, said he had been thinking of buying a ticket that day but didn't.

 "It was my wife's birthday," he said. "I should have kept it as a gift, but it was his luck."

Ticket sellers don't receive a payment for scratch-off game winnings, said Lakhani, only games like MegaMillions. He noted that his ticket sales have increased since people found out the winning ticket was sold there.