After opening wallet to buy tires SC man fills it with lottery game’s top prize
A Midlands man had to spend some money to have new tires installed on his car, according to South Carolina Education Lottery officials.
While heading home on his new wheels, the man said he had a feeling that he should stop and buy a lottery ticket, officials said Wednesday in a news release.
“I was on the way home and something told me to stop and get two tickets,” he said in the release.
The first ticket wasn’t a winner, but the second ticket revealed the scratch-off lottery game’s $500,000 grand prize, and the man’s urge paid off in a big way, according to the release.
Unless he bought the most expensive tires in the world, his wallet got bigger after making the trip to have the improvements for his car.
The man told lottery officials he’s planning on saving his newfound windfall for retirement. But he did not say if his retirement plans moved up because of the boost to his finances.
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 purchased the Winning Spree ticket for $10 at the Sumter Stop gas station/convenience store at 610 South Guignard Drive in Sumter, according to the release.
It was the first of the new lottery game’s five grand prize winning tickets to be cashed in, officials said. Four more Winning Spree tickets carrying six-figure prizes are still unclaimed.
The winner overcame 1,200,000-to-1 odds to capture the game’s jackpot, according to the release.
Sumter Stop received a commission of $5,000 for selling the claimed ticket.
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