Lottery winner shocked by ‘all zeros’ after store clerks pick winning SC ticket

A lottery player checked his ticket and was shocked to see “all zeros.”

“I always hoped to win, but I never thought it would happen,” said the South Carolina Education Lottery winner. “This will improve my family and me for years to come.”

The man won $300,000 after receiving help at the Busy Corner convenience store in Lake City, about 60 miles northwest of Myrtle Beach. His previous tickets had been unlucky, so he asked store employees to choose the next one, lottery officials wrote in a May 16 news release.

Employees chose a scratch-off game for the Ultimate Bonus Payout game, and it paid off big.

The man “took the $10 bill home to scratch it and was stunned when he saw the dollar sign followed by all the zeros.” He beat odds of 1 in 700,000 to win the game’s top prize, officials said.

The South Carolina resident, who was not identified in a news release, kept $208,500 after taxes, lottery spokeswoman Holli Armstrong told McClatchy News in an email.

This isn’t the first time a store employee has helped a lottery player win the jackpot. A South Carolina supermarket employee once recommended that a woman play a game that made her richer, McClatchy News reported in 2019.

Many people can gamble or gamble safely. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin their lives and families.

If you or a loved one are showing signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the National Gambling Hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or by visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

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