Search for perfect Mother’s Day gift ends with ‘life-changing’ lottery win for SC man
A South Carolina man was looking for the perfect Mother’s Day gift: a card and some pretty flowers. But when he left the store, he also went home much richer.
During a trip to buy the gift, the Lowcountry man also treated himself to a $10 lottery ticket at Publix, according to a May 12 news release from the South Carolina Education Lottery.
The winner told lottery officials the grocery store in Summerville, about 25 miles northwest of Charleston, did not have the ticket he “really wanted,” so he tried a different one instead.
And it paid off with a $500,000 win.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would win,” he told lottery officials. “I hoped I would, but I never thought it would happen.”
The man scratched the ticket in the grocery store’s parking lot and sat in his car for at least 15 minutes to let it sink in — then he called his wife to share the news, according to lottery officials.
“This is a life changing event for us,” he said. “We are going to be debt free and enjoy life.”
Officials said the man still hasn’t told his mother, who is “the reason he stopped by the store in the first place.”
The winner told officials he plans to surprise her.
The man beat 1 in 840,000 odds with his win, according to the release.
Publix Super Markets in Summerville earned a $5,000 commission for selling the winning ticket, lottery officials said.
This story was originally published May 12, 2022 at 12:24 PM with the headline "Search for perfect Mother’s Day gift ends with ‘life-changing’ lottery win for SC man."
