Lottery player learns he won big — then goes back to store. ‘Wasn’t sure it was true’
A lottery winner couldn’t believe he hit the jackpot — so he went back to the store where he bought his lucky ticket.
“I wasn’t sure it was true,” the man told the South Carolina Education Lottery in a May 9 news release.
When the man returned to the store for a second opinion, he had the clerk scan his ticket. That’s when he discovered he had a prize waiting for him in Columbia, home to the lottery’s claims center.
“I was pretty sure I won then,” said the man, whose ticket was worth $200,000.
The man got richer after he stopped at a QuikTrip convenience store in Piedmont, a roughly 10-mile drive south from Greenville. He said he was at the store with a friend and didn’t plan to buy a lottery ticket at first.
But the man ended up spending $5 to play the Monopoly scratch-off game. His ticket scored one of the game’s top prizes, beating 1-in-720,000 odds to win.
The winner, who wasn’t identified in the news release, kept $139,000 after taxes, lottery spokesperson Holli Armstrong told McClatchy News in an email.
It’s not the first time someone had a hard time knowing whether a South Carolina lottery win was the real deal. Another player’s wife was skeptical about the lucky ticket he bought while getting doughnuts, McClatchy News reported in December.
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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