Waffle House waitress tastes lottery success

Jul 31, 2009, 12:42 pm (12 comments)

Georgia Lottery

Mother of two wants to open her own restaurant

An Austell, Georgia, Waffle House waitress, who won the half-million dollar top prize in the $500,000 Monopoly instant game, is considering opening a restaurant with her winnings.

Autumn Laney, 26 and a mother of two, purchased her winning ticket while making a stop at Quick Pick Food Store on Six Flags Drive.

Before leaving, she scratched the ticket in her car.

"I had to put on my glasses, and I cried when I saw all of those zeros," she said.

The mother of two ran back into the store.

Waffle House"I was overwhelmed," she recalled. "I feel like it's still not true."

Opening a restaurant with her prize is one option Laney is considering, she said. She also intends to buy a new home.

Autumn Laney, 26, had a big payday after winning the top prize in the $500,000 Monopoly instant game from the Georgia Lottery.Autumn Laney, 26, had a big payday after winning the top prize in the $500,000 Monopoly instant game from the Georgia Lottery.

A sample ticket of the Georgia Lottery's $500,000 Monopoly instant game.A sample ticket of the Georgia Lottery's $500,000 Monopoly instant game.

Lottery Post Staff

Comments

RJOh's avatarRJOh

An Austell, Georgia, Waffle House waitress,.........., is considering opening a restaurant with her winnings.

At least she'll be risking her own money.  She probably noticed the big money Waffle House makes.

Halle99's avatarHalle99

Congrats.....

PartyParty

ThatScaryChick's avatarThatScaryChick

Congrats to Mrs. Laney, I hope her new business ventures works out for her!

konane's avatarkonane

Congratulations to her, she's living her dream!!!  Party

Todd's avatarTodd

I have always liked Waffle House.  This story is making me hungry.

Dollar419's avatarDollar419

Way to go Autumn--Congratulations on your very big win!!!Hurray!

dpoly1's avatardpoly1

Not a lot of capital to start a business.

Very easy to fail - especially in this economy !

I wish her luck !

savagegoose's avatarsavagegoose

she could always stick the money in a bank account and live off the interest.... o wait heck that wouldnt work. better buy a business,

lottolaughs's avatarlottolaughs

Quote: Originally posted by dpoly1 on Jul 31, 2009

Not a lot of capital to start a business.

Very easy to fail - especially in this economy !

I wish her luck !

I Agree!    Oh,please don't open a restaurant! I, too, was a waitress back in the day and food cost will eat you alive for starters. Even big well known chains are struggling right now because people aren't going out to eat like they used to. Many many restuarants are downsizing stores.

SAVE THAT MONEY instead or get a good financial advisor. $500 grand after taxes isn't all that much. 

Dollar419's avatarDollar419

On this women's dream to open a restaurant; the key word I read is that she intended to open a restaurant-not that she would; she can always change her mind if it isn't cost effective...PLEASE FOR ONCE--Let her enjoy her win and dream for a few days--she has a lot to deal with, including paying the high taxes on her big win.

GamerMom's avatarGamerMom

Quote: Originally posted by lottolaughs on Aug 2, 2009

I Agree!    Oh,please don't open a restaurant! I, too, was a waitress back in the day and food cost will eat you alive for starters. Even big well known chains are struggling right now because people aren't going out to eat like they used to. Many many restuarants are downsizing stores.

SAVE THAT MONEY instead or get a good financial advisor. $500 grand after taxes isn't all that much. 

I agree.  Georgia also has a state tax so she will probably be lucky to keep 75% of her winnings after all the taxes are deducted.  She does not look like she would be educated in business matters; I hope she gets some reliable advice before she goes spending all of her winnings.

JackpotWanna's avatarJackpotWanna

Keep day job and put the winnings into interest accounts.

End of comments
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