Check your tickets. A winning Mega Millions game was sold at a Food Lion in South Carolina
Someone who bought a Mega Millions ticket at a grocery store in Columbia was one number away from winning the game’s grand prize, South Carolina Education Lottery officials said Wednesday in a news release.
While the ticket buyer didn’t capture the $200,000,000 Mega Millions jackpot in Tuesday’s drawing, the consolation prize for coming so close is a $1,000,000 payday, according to the release.
Now the search is underway for the winner.
The seven-figure winning ticket was sold at the Food Lion at 2900 Leesburg Road, officials said. That’s by the intersection with Ulmer Road, not far from the Fort Jackson area in Columbia.
The winning numbers from Tuesday’s drawing were 2, 10, 42, 49, 54 and Megaball: 13.
The winning ticket matched all five of the numbers on the white balls that were drawn for a $1 million jackpot, lottery officials said.
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 has 180 days to claim the prize, according to lottery officials.
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.
“Sign the back of your ticket and put it in a safe location until you’re ready to come forward to claim the prize,” lottery officials said.
For complete information on claiming prizes, go to sceducationlottery.com.
The Food Lion will receive a commission of $10,000 for selling the winning ticket when it is turned into lottery officials.
In addition to the $1 million winning game, more than 9,000 other players in South Carolina won prizes in Tuesday’s drawing, according to the release.
Because there was no grand prize winner Tuesday, the jackpot for the next Mega Millions drawing on Friday has risen to $236 million, officials said.
Tickets are $2, and could cost more with additional options.
The odds of winning Mega Million’s grand prize are 1-in-302,575,350.
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