Lottery player checks SC ticket mid-football game and wins big. ‘Didn’t watch the rest’

A woman waiting in line at a South Carolina store was inspired by the man in front of her and asked the clerk for the same lottery tickets he had just bought.

It led her to a jackpot win, according to a Jan. 17 news release from the South Carolina Education Lottery.

The Summerville woman bought $25 worth of tickets for the $200,000 Gold Rush game at Parkers convenience store then went home to watch a football game on TV, she told lottery officials.

During halftime, she decided to scratch the $5 tickets. She scratched four before the fifth revealed a top prize win of $200,000.

“I thought this can’t be real,” she told lottery officials. “I didn’t watch the rest of the game, because I kept going in the kitchen to look at the ticket.”

She beat the 1-in-660,000 odds of winning one of four top prizes and claimed hers the next day, according to the South Carolina Education Lottery.

“I hope the gentlemen in line in front of me won something good on his tickets too,” she told lottery officials.

She said she plans to put her winnings toward her retirement fund. The $200,000 Gold Rush game has now closed.

Summerville is about a 25-mile drive northwest from Charleston.

This story was originally published January 21, 2025 at 8:22 AM with the headline "Lottery player checks SC ticket mid-football game and wins big. ‘Didn’t watch the rest’."