First-time SC lottery player thought she might win $10, but wound up with a lot more
A Midlands woman recently won a $300,000 jackpot on the first South Carolina Education Lottery game she ever played.
While she might expect to win big every time she gets a lottery ticket now, that definitely was not her expectation when her grandfather picked out the scratch-off game, lottery officials said in a news release.
“I thought I might win $10,” she said in the release. “I was scratching the ticket and thinking there are too many zeros.”
Her grandfather was by her side as she revealed the top prize in the Money Maker game. He told his granddaughter to take the ticket and go straight home, lottery officials said.
She followed his advice, after all he was the one who chose the scratch-off game.
“He picked out a good ticket,” she said.
The woman’s name was not released because South Carolina is one of eight states — along with Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio and Texas — that allow lottery winners to remain anonymous.
The winning scratch-off ticket was bought for $10 at the Quick Pantry Liquor store in Saint Matthews, lottery officials said. That’s on U.S. 601 in an area of Calhoun County that’s densely packed with retail businesses and restaurants.
Quick Pantry received a commission of $3,000 for selling the claimed winning ticket, according to the release.
Lottery officials said the odds of winning $300,000 in Palmetto Cash 5 were 1-in-780,000. One top prize remains in the game, with five having been claimed, according to lottery officials.
The winner did not reveal specific plans for her newfound fortune, other than saying plans to help her family with the winnings, according to the release.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhen gambling is more than a game
Gambling is designed to be a source of entertainment.
If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.
This story was originally published July 14, 2021 at 12:12 PM.
