South Carolina

Lottery player in a hurry didn’t scratch all her ticket in SC. It held a big surprise

The lucky lottery player bought her winning ticket in Aiken, South Carolina.
The lucky lottery player bought her winning ticket in Aiken, South Carolina. Getty Images/iStockphoto

A South Carolina woman rushed to scratch her lottery ticket — but it still held a big surprise.

As the woman hastily checked the ticket, she only scratched off the part that had a bar code — not where it showed her prize. She scanned the bar code at a machine, which gave her news that finally made her “slow down,” according to the S.C. Education Lottery.

“It told me to claim it at the lottery,” the woman said in an Aug. 4 news release. “So I started scratching the entire ticket, and the last number was the big win.”

The woman scored a $300,000 prize — and said she spent a recent weekend mulling over her unexpected windfall. Then she decided how she would spend her winnings.

“Today she’s debt free with extra money in savings,” lottery officials wrote.

The woman scored her six-figure prize after she stopped at the Richland Express convenience store in Aiken. While there, officials said she tried her luck on the Black Diamond Dazzler game.

It turns out, the ticket she bought for $10 beat 1-in-840,000 odds to hit the jackpot. The S.C. Education Lottery, which didn’t reveal the winner’s identity, told McClatchy News she kept $205,500 after taxes.

Aiken is roughly 55 miles southwest of Columbia.

It’s not the first time a lottery player learned about a jackpot prize while in a hurry. Last year, a Kentucky man said he started “shaking and screaming” when he realized the ticket he scanned would make him much richer, McClatchy News reported.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

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Simone Jasper
The News & Observer
Simone Jasper is a service journalism reporter at The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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