A Bluffton, South Carolina, woman nearly threw away $250,000.
She was cleaning her car more than a month ago when she noticed a lottery ticket she had purchased at the Publix on Buckwalter Place Boulevard. She thought the ticket, which was stuffed under the seat, was worthless.
Before tossing it out, she marked off a few unscratched numbers and realized she'd hit the jackpot: $250,000 on a "$250 Grand" ticket.
"I was shaking," the woman, who declined to be named or interviewed, told S.C. Education Lottery officials Monday.
Too nervous to drive to Columbia alone, she waited until after the holidays for her sister to accompany her to the lottery office to turn in the ticket, a news release said.
"It drove me nuts," she said. "I thought up everything that could go wrong with the ticket."
The woman told lottery officials she is thinking of buying a new car with the money.
Her odds of winning the prize were about 1 in 576,000, according to the release.
The lottery office also reports that the owner of a $300,000 winning ticket sold in Hardeeville has come forward after the drawing Dec. 27. Last week, an out-of-state woman presented her Palmetto Cash 5 ticket sold at the Gulf Oil gas station on Whyte Hardee Boulevard, lottery representative Holli Armstrong said.
The woman, who declined to be interviewed, told Armstrong she was visiting family for the holidays when she purchased the ticket. She plans to put the money in savings, Armstrong said.
Despite the odds, the region has seen its share of winners. Eight other tickets purchased in Beaufort or Jasper counties during the past two years delivered prizes of at least $50,000 each, according to Holli Armstrong, a lottery representative.
Other local winners include a Hardeeville man who netted $200,000 from a Lucky Loot ticket he bought at Handy Dans 3 in Ridgeland, according to a news release.
Six of the tickets were purchased in Bluffton, including one that won $200,000 in Cash Bash on Nov. 25.
The most recent Bluffton winner will claim $250,000, and the Buckwalter Publix will receive a $2,500 commission, Armstrong said.
YIKES!
Is that all it takes to get a winner!?
Here we go again.
" l looked up and there it was".
Nevertheless" Congrats".
Why would anyone with a spinning neuron believe that a ticket with a "few unscratched numbers" is "worthless?!"
Publix
I never leave my Scratchers unfinished!
LOL just plain lucky
I hate her. Be-aaach!!!
and this is the reason
why you'll never win
Congratulations to the winner
Doesn't matter trax! I know you love me and that's more important my brother.
I don't get it. What does the beach have to do with winning.
hahahaha...
You're right, I spelled it wrong. I didn't mean to write beach.
Congrats, glad she finally got the job done,
congrats..............to her ........
keep telling daughter to buy her tickets in SC , where she lives
she has better luck in her state , than I do .
It seems like people from South Carolina winning a lot .
When you buy your ticket you're suppose to fill the back of it ,
photo copy and put it into a safe deposit box at the bank .
Don't tell the bankers or anybody you won . "The less you tell,
the better off you're and have complete control of your mind .
When you go to turn in the ticket , make sure you've a trusted
lawyer , CPA and financial advisor to come with you .
You need a solid plan for that money or else somebody will jew
you out of your money . Do the right thing with it , live on a
monthly income aka live with in your means and make that money
last . Shopping sprees are not what you want or else you will
end up broke fast . Wear sunglasses and you dont want to be talking
to the media if you can help from it . There more that goes into
planning your lottery money , it takes months ............
Do's and Don'ts when winning the lottery ...........
Congratulations to all the winners.
I agree, sully16. Certainly, distracting multitasking isn't wise!
Congratulations to this now lottery win wealthier woman!
Ya just never know what someone is going through in their life.
Glad she checked!!!! That's a lot of money to throw away!!! LOL
"She thought the ticket, which was stuffed under the seat, was worthless."
-Nothing is worthless. Big surprises come in small packages so never judge a book by its cover. Because maybe what you threw and thought was worthless, is your one-way ticket to a luxurious life.