Wife waited to check South Carolina lottery ticket. Then came a ‘surreal’ moment
A South Carolina lottery ticket kept a couple in suspense — then came a “surreal” moment.
The wife was left in disbelief after she spent $10 on a scratch-off ticket and waited to see how much it was worth. But her husband urged her to check it, leading them to discover a $500,000 prize, the S.C. Education Lottery said March 6 in a news release.
“Maybe it’s not real,” the winner thought.
But the prize was the real deal, and now the couple will save the extra cash for retirement.
“It still feels surreal,” the wife, who wasn’t identified publicly, told the S.C. Education Lottery one month after she claimed her prize.
The woman experienced the lucky moment after she went to a Circle K convenience store in Charleston. At the East Bay Street location, she bought a ticket for the $500,000 Multiplier Money game, officials said.
It turns out, her scratch-off beat 1-in-660,000 odds to win the game’s top prize of a half-million dollars. She kept $347,500 after taxes, lottery spokesperson Holli Armstrong told McClatchy News in an email.
It’s not the first time a lottery player has considered the next phase in life. Last year, one North Carolina man said his jackpot win would make retirement easier, while another prize allowed a winner to start paying off his home before retiring, McClatchy News reported.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhen gambling is more than a game
Gambling is designed to be a source of entertainment.
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.
This story was originally published March 7, 2023 at 5:54 AM with the headline "Wife waited to check South Carolina lottery ticket. Then came a ‘surreal’ moment."
