SC man says he won’t change after winning seven-figure Mega Millions jackpot
A Midlands man said winning a $2 million prize in a recent Mega Millions drawing won’t change him, according to South Carolina Education Lottery Officials.
The winner said he remained calm and collected as he realized he’d won a seven-figure jackpot on the Mega Millions ticket he bought in Orangeburg, lottery officials said in a news release.
In fact, he was able to go to bed after learning he’d just won a big prize, according to the release.
The winner watched the late-night July 14 drawing on TV, writing down the winning numbers as they were called, checked his ticket and then went to sleep, lottery officials said.
The winning numbers from that drawing were 10, 24, 48, 51, 66 and Megaball: 15.
The Midlands man’s ticket matched all five of the numbers on the white balls that were drawn for a $1 million jackpot, lottery officials said. Because he paid an additional dollar for the Megaplier option, his prize was doubled when that number was a 2, according to the release.
The odds of matching five white balls for the $1,000,000 prize are 1-in-12,607,306, according to the release.
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 did not say what he’d do with his newfound windfall, but told lottery officials that he’s not letting the big win change him.
He purchased the Mega Millions game for $2 at the Gaz-Bah gas station/convenience store at 951 Chestnut St., according to the release. That’s near the South Carolina State University campus.
The Gaz-Bah convenience store received a commission of $20,000 when the winning ticket was turned in to lottery officials, according to the release.
A little more than two weeks after selling the $2 million winning ticket, the same convenience store another winner from the Aug. 1 Mega Millions drawing. This time, a ticket that matched four of the five white ball numbers and the gold Megaball number was good for a $10,000 prize, according to lottery officials.
The next Mega Millions drawing will be held on Tuesday night, when a $33 million grand prize will be on the line.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1-in-302 million.
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