SC man thought he’d won $1,000 on lottery game, but his prize was much, much bigger
A man who bought a South Carolina Education Lottery ticket initially thought he’d won a $1,000 jackpot, but eventually learned his prize was much bigger.
The Fort Mill resident actually won a scratch-off game’s $2,000,000 grand prize, officials said in a news release.
While a $1,000 prize is nice, there are many more zeros in $2 million.
The winner spent $20 to purchase the 200X The Cash game at John Boys, a gas station/convenience store at 140 Spratt St. in Fort Mill, according to the release. That’s near the state line separating South Carolina and North Carolina.
While he was at the store, the man only scratched off the game’s bar code when he scanned the ticket and saw a message saying “Claim at Lottery,” officials said. That’s when he believed he’d won $1,000, the minimum prize requiring a player to visit the South Carolina Education Lottery Claims Center on Assembly Street in downtown Columbia for a payout.
It wasn’t until he took the ticket home, where he finished scratching it off, and got the surprise of his life, officials said.
“I thought, ‘this is going to be the big one,’ ” he said as he revealed the game’s seven-figure jackpot, according to the release. “It was pretty cool when it happened.”
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 man didn’t say what his plans are for the newfound windfall, but expressed relief at winning the multimillion dollar payday.
“Everything got real easy,” the winner said. “I can breathe now.”
The odds of winning $2,000,000 playing 200X The Cash game are 1,460,000-to-1, according to the release.
One of the game’s grand prize winning tickets remains unclaimed, officials said.
John Boys received a $20,000 commission for selling the winning ticket, officials said.
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This story was originally published February 10, 2025 at 9:50 AM with the headline "SC man thought he’d won $1,000 on lottery game, but his prize was much, much bigger."
