Couple’s Christmas tradition pays off with $125,000 lottery jackpot in South Carolina

A South Carolina husband and wife are starting off the new year $125,000 richer, thanks to a yearly holiday tradition that finally paid off.

The Easley couple gift one another lottery tickets each year around Christmas, South Carolina Education Lottery officials said.

Sitting on the sofa Christmas Eve, the husband scratched off a $5 Extra Play ticket, and the couple were shocked with what they saw.

“Oh, my gosh,” the wife said.

“It was a very nice Christmas present,” the husband told lottery officials.

Being handed a large check right at the start of 2021 was both incredible and surreal, they said.

“It was pretty cool,” the husband said. “We had fun.”

The odds of winning were 1-in-750,000, according to lottery officials.

Another top prize in the Extra Play game remains to be won.

The wife bought the winning ticket at the Hot Spot convenience store on JC Calhoun Memorial Highway.

This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 6:43 PM.