She had ‘forgotten all about’ a lottery drawing — until a $1 million surprise in SC
A South Carolina woman had “forgotten all about” a lottery drawing — then came a big surprise.
While at work, she discovered she had a ticket worth $1 million, according to the S.C. Education Lottery.
“I screamed and started crying when I found out I won,” said the woman, who declined to be identified in a June 17 news release.
The winner is from St. Stephen, a Berkeley County town roughly 80 miles southwest of Myrtle Beach.
The woman celebrated the windfall after officials said she racked up about 20 non-winning lottery tickets. She entered them into the Bonus Match Second-Chance Promotion drawing, a decision that had escaped her mind by the time she got a call about the results.
“I’d forgotten all about it,” she said in the news release.
It turns out, one of the tickets she entered months ago beat out more than 800,000 others to win the top prize in the June 1 drawing.
“I never imagined in a million years that I would win $1 million,” she told the S.C. Education Lottery. “It’s changed my life.”
The woman, who took home $690,000 after taxes, is now searching for a new house, according to the release and spokesperson Holli Armstrong.
It’s not the first time a lottery player has been forgetful.
In 2020, officials said a South Carolina jackpot winner couldn’t remember where he’d stowed his winning ticket. The following year, a North Carolina woman almost forgot to scratch off her $1 million ticket, McClatchy News reported.
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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 June 17, 2022 at 10:36 AM with the headline "She had ‘forgotten all about’ a lottery drawing — until a $1 million surprise in SC."
