SC man’s prize for buying a winning Powerball ticket was much more than he first thought
A South Carolina man narrowly missed out on winning Powerball’s recent billion-dollar grand prize, but had enough matching numbers to walk away with a seven-figure jackpot, South Carolina Education Lottery officials said.
The North Augusta resident said it was a shock when he learned he’d won a $1 million consolation prize, according to a news release.
At first, the man didn’t know what his prize was when he initially had his ticket scanned after buying it at the Quik Trip gas station/convenience store at 930 Edgefield Road in North Augusta, according to the release. That’s near Exit 5 on a stretch of Interstate 20 running through Aiken County.
The scanner simply sent a message saying “See Lottery,” but it didn’t tell him his prize, officials said.
At the Lottery’s Claims Center in Columbia, the staff let him watch as his ticket was checked, according to the release. At first, he thought he saw a $1,000 win, then it hit him there were six, not three, zeros, officials said.
“I was dumbstruck,” he said in the release.
He missed winning a $1 billion jackpot by one number in the April 3 drawing, as his ticket matched all five white ball numbers, but missed on the red Powerball number, officials said.
The winning numbers from that drawing were 11, 38, 41, 62, 65 and Powerball: 15.
The odds of matching all five white ball numbers and winning a $1 million Powerball jackpot are 1-in-11,688,054, according to the release.
The man didn’t reveal his plans for spending his newfound windfall, saying only “it’s enough for me to retire and be happy.”
The winner will be allowed to retain some privacy, as South Carolina is one of 11 states — along with Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas and Virginia — that allow lottery winners to remain anonymous.
The Quik Trip received a $10,000 commission for selling the claimed winning ticket, lottery officials said.
The next Powerball drawing will be held on Monday night, when a $131 million grand prize will be on the line.
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1-in-293 million.
