Myrtle Beach man finds $1 million Powerball winner in stack of old lottery tickets

A local man came forward last week at a Carolina Forest Scotchman and cashed in his $1 million-dollar, winning Powerball ticket after the ticket sat in a stack of others for more than a month.

The ticket was sold at the Scotchman at 3225 Postal Way in the Carolina Forest area of Myrtle Beach, and a drawing on June 6 turned the ticket holder into a winner, according to a press release from the South Carolina Education Lottery officials.

The ticket’s owner let it lay dormant for so long because he didn’t know he had become a millionaire, and it sat at the bottom of a stack of old tickets.

The winner heard an announcement on the radio about a $1 million unclaimed prize and found out he was the ticket’s holder after using his home computer to search past winnings while going through old tickets.

The winner said all he could do was sit and stare at the ticket afterward.

“I’ve been playing since the lottery started in South Carolina,” the winner said. “The most I’ve won before was $12,” the winner said in a press release.

He said his wife giggled when finding out the news.

The lottery win has now secured the couple’s retirement and could possibly lead to a new home.

State lottery officials said if the new millionaire had spent an extra dollar for PowerPlay, his prize would have doubled to $2 million. If the Powerball number matched, the jackpot would have been his, according to the release.

“I try not to think about that,” the winner said. “I’m just glad to know my footsteps had a little luck in them.”

The winning numbers were 8, 13, 18, 27, and 43, and the Powerball number was 15.

The odds of winning $1 million are 1 in 5,153,633, according state lottery officials.

Since last July, Myrtle Beach has had three $1 million or $2 million lottery winners.

South Carolina Education Lottery officials reported April 16 that a Myrtle Beach woman and her boyfriend won $100,000 from a “Joker Mania” scratch-off ticket.

The winning ticket was sold at the Circle K at 6501 N. Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach, according to a press release.

A $100,000 winning lottery ticket was sold at a Surfside Beach area store and determined to be the winner Feb. 11 after a drawing.

The winning Palmetto Cash 5 ticket was purchased from Murphy Express No. 8632 at 8737 U.S. 17 Bypass in Surfside Beach, lottery officials said in a news release.

The estimated jackpot for Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing is $60 million.

Contact ELIZABETH TOWNSEND at 626-0217 or on Twitter @TSN_etownsend.