Lottery jackpot opens SC winner’s imagination. ‘Whole world lifted off my shoulders’
A South Carolina lottery ticket opened a man’s imagination — and led him to a life-changing prize.
“The whole world lifted off my shoulders,” the man told the S.C. Education Lottery after he hit the jackpot.
The lottery player celebrated his windfall after he went to an Exxon gas station in Fountain Inn, roughly 20 miles southeast of Greenville. While there, officials said he spent $10 to try his luck on a scratch-off ticket for the Win Big Money game.
The man “picked that ticket because he says he knew what the prize could do.” And it turns out, his ticket beat 1-in-900,000 odds to win the game’s top prize, lottery officials wrote in an Aug. 3 news release.
The scratch-off was worth $300,000, leaving the winner with $205,500 in prize money after taxes, officials said.
“I haven’t spent much of it,” said the winner, who wasn’t identified in the news release. “But I have got some things that I’ve wanted my whole life.”
Those longtime wishes include paying off his home, lottery spokesperson Holli Armstrong told McClatchy News in an email.
It’s not the first time a South Carolina lottery player has remained humble in the moments after scoring a jackpot win. In July, officials said a man won a prize on his way to work and kept going to his job for days.
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 August 3, 2023 at 11:52 AM with the headline "Lottery jackpot opens SC winner’s imagination. ‘Whole world lifted off my shoulders’."
