Lottery player ‘didn’t feel all that lucky.’ Then a huge win changed everything
A lottery player “didn’t feel all that lucky” — then he won a huge prize.
“Life has changed,” the winner told the South Carolina Education Lottery in a July 10 news release. “I’m trying to stay calm.”
The man won $100,000 after stopping at a Quick Pantry convenience store in Greenwood, a roughly 55-mile drive south from Greenville. He didn’t have a lucky feeling but still decided to buy some scratch-off tickets.
It turns out, one of the tickets beat 1-in-600,000 odds to win a top prize in Lady Jumbo Bucks Crossword, a word puzzle-themed game. He realized he scored the windfall when his $3 ticket revealed several words.
“It was real exciting,” said the man, who wasn’t identified in the release.
The prize winner, who lives in South Carolina, kept $69,500 after taxes, lottery spokesperson Holli Armstrong wrote in an email to McClatchy News.
It’s not the first time a jackpot win has changed someone’s outlook. Another South Carolina lottery player was having a bad day until she learned she was getting richer, McClatchy News reported in June.
This story was originally published July 10, 2025 at 3:11 PM with the headline "Lottery player ‘didn’t feel all that lucky.’ Then a huge win changed everything."
