8 South Carolina lottery winners who struck it rich
In South Carolina, several lottery winners defied incredible odds to take home substantial prizes. All these winners experienced unexpected windfalls, often guided by intuition or chance meetings during mundane activities. One article details a man who went back to a store to retrieve forgotten slips and ended up buying a ticket worth $1 million. Another story tells of a woman who followed a gut feeling to buy scratch-offs, leading her to a $500,000 win. In a separate incident, a man seeking an energy drink ended up with a scratch-off worth $300,000 after his ticket choice 'gave him quite a lift.'
Many of the winners, while shocked at their fortune, plan to keep their lives steady, with some investing their winnings into retirement or paying off debts. Each story highlights the rare and life-changing nature of winning the lottery.
Read the stories below.
NO. 1: ‘I NEARLY HAD A HEART ATTACK,’ SC MAN SAYS AFTER WINNING LOTTERY GAME’S SEVEN-DIGIT PRIZE
The odds of winning the seven-figure jackpot were 1-in-1,350,000. | Published February 8, 2024 | Read Full Story by Noah Feit
NO. 2: SC WOMAN SAYS SHE FEELS LUCKY EVERY DAY AFTER WINNING LOTTERY GAME’S GRAND PRIZE
The odds of winning the six-figure jackpot were 1-in-960,000. | Published February 21, 2024 | Read Full Story by Noah Feit
NO. 3: LOTTERY PLAYER SHOCKED BY BIG WIN DURING LUNCH BREAK IN SC. ‘TOLD MY BOSS TO PINCH ME’
“I was in shock.” | Published April 9, 2024 | Read Full Story by Paloma Chavez
NO. 4: SHOPPER FOLLOWED HER GUT — AND ‘RAN OUT OF THE STORE’ WITH WINNING SC LOTTERY TICKET
“It’s changed my bank account, but it hasn’t changed me.” | Published April 12, 2024 | Read Full Story by Simone Jasper
NO. 5: LOTTERY PLAYER WAS HOPING FOR A ‘CAFFEINE FIX.’ HIS SC TICKET ‘GAVE HIM QUITE A LIFT’
“Something told me to play that ticket.” | Published May 3, 2024 | Read Full Story by Simone Jasper
NO. 6: LOTTERY PLAYER IS NO FOOTBALL FAN — BUT SHE SCORES BIG ON CLEMSON SCRATCH-OFF TICKET
The South Carolina woman already has plans for her winnings. | Published January 31, 2025 | Read Full Story by Tanasia Kenney
NO. 7: LOTTERY PLAYER WAKES HUSBAND AFTER GROCERY RUN LEADS TO HUGE PRIZE IN SC. ‘DEBT FREE’
“It is wonderful,” the Upstate woman said. | Published February 6, 2025 | Read Full Story by Tanasia Kenney
NO. 8: LOTTERY PLAYER SCRATCHES SC TICKET — AND IT ‘KEEPS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER’
The man’s big win was a “long time coming.” | Published May 9, 2025 | Read Full Story by Simone Jasper
The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.