West Columbia man wakes up to six-figure winning Powerball ticket, SC Lottery says
A Lexington County man woke up Thursday to find he had won a six-figure jackpot.
By matching four of five numbers, in addition to the red number, on a Powerball ticket the West Columbia man won a $100,000 prize, South Carolina Education Lottery officials said in a news release.
He was just one number away from capturing the multi-million-dollar Powerball prize, according to the release.
The man told lottery officials he had checked his ticket after getting out of bed following last Wednesday’s drawing, and was in disbelief as most of the numbers matched.
“I can’t really put into words what I’m feeling,” he said in the release.
The man’s name was not released because South Carolina is one of eight states — along with Delaware, Kansas, Georgia, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio and Texas — that allow lottery winners to remain anonymous.
By matching four of the five drawn numbers — 1, 4, 11, 20, 69 — the West Columbia resident won $50,000, officials said. Because his quick pick ticket had the identical red Powerball number 18, his winnings were doubled to $100,000 when a “2” multiplier was selected, according to the release.
He bought the winning ticket at Palm Pantry #33 on Platt Springs Road in West Columbia, according to the release. The gas station/convenience store is near the intersection with Emanuel Church Road, and less than 2 miles from Columbia Metropolitan Airport.
Lottery officials said the man overcame 913,129-to-1 odds to win the $50,000 prize, and the chances of a 2X multiplier being selected are 1 in 1.79 million when the jackpot is $150 million or less.
The man did not commit to what he would do with his newfound fortune, only saying “I’m putting it to good use.”
Palm Pantry #33 received a commission of $1,000 for selling the winning ticket, lottery officials said.
The man was the second Midlands resident to cash in on a six-digit jackpot in the past week.
A woman in Orangeburg overcame 600,000-to-1 odds to win $150,000 on a Giant Jumbo Bucks scratch-off ticket, according to lottery officials.
One of the $5 game’s top prizes of $150,000 remains unclaimed, lottery officials said.
This story was originally published September 20, 2020 at 10:40 AM.
