Thirsty man’s last-moment decision to buy an SC lottery game pays off in a big way
A Midlands man had just bought a drink on another famously hot day in Columbia when he decided to spend the rest of his pocket money on a scratch-off game, South Carolina Lottery officials said.
His last-moment decision to spend $5 on a lottery ticket turned was “life-changing,” the man said in a news release after winning a six-figure jackpot.
He quenched his thirst, but as he was walking out the door decided to turn around and bought what turned out to be a $200,000 winning Money Multiplier game at Community Mart at 4101 Monticello Road, according to the release. That’s in Columbia, a few blocks from the intersection with North Main Street and a half mile from Eau Claire High School.
The winner said he had to put on his glasses to be sure what he thought he saw was accurate, lottery officials said.
“I had no clue I was going to win,” he said. “You never think it’s going to be you.”
The winner will be allowed to retain some privacy, as South Carolina is one of 11 states — along with Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas and Virginia — that allow lottery winners to remain anonymous.
The man didn’t share any plans for his newfound windfall.
The odds of winning the top prize in the Money Multiplier game were one-in-750,000, according to the release. Three of the game’s four top prize-winning tickets remain unclaimed, according to the lottery website.
Community Mart received a commission of $2,000 for selling the claimed winning ticket, according to the release.
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