ATLANTA — Thurman Rowland is excited about his $1 million lottery win. The Valdosta house painter played the Georgia Lottery instant game Georgia’s $500 Million Club and won a $1 million prize.

“I’m still shaking,” he said. “I’m letting it sink in, and I am taking it one day at a time.”

Rowland, who will celebrate his 56th birthday April 30, said that with his lottery win he wants to buy his dream car: a new Ford Crown Victoria. He also plans to buy a new house. He considers the win an early birthday present.

“I still can’t believe it. It’s hard to explain,” he exclaimed. “It hasn’t sunk in yet. Having the money will be nice.”

Lowndes Beverage, 703 E. Park Ave. in Valdosta, sold the winning ticket.

Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corporation has returned more than $9.7 billion to the state of Georgia for education.

All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational programs including Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship Program and Georgia’s Pre-kindergarten Program. More than 1 million students have received HOPE, and more than 860,000 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary pre-kindergarten program.