None of his SC lottery tickets were winners. Then his dog found one he didn’t check
A South Carolina man didn’t remember that he had an extra lottery ticket — until his dog spotted the winning scratch-off.
The man checked that ticket and discovered it was worth $75,000, the S.C. Education Lottery said last week.
“I was shocked,” said the winner, whose name wasn’t shared in a news release. “It was crazy.”
The big surprise came after the man bought several scratch-offs at Refuel in McBee, a Chesterfield County town roughly 65 miles northeast of Columbia. None of his other tickets were winners, so “he didn’t bother scratching” the last one, officials said.
That was before he said his dog spotted the ticket, prompting him to take a closer look.
“I’d honestly forgotten about it,” the winner told S.C. Education Lottery officials.
It turns out, that ticket beat 1-in-528,000 odds to win the Bingo Tripler game’s biggest prize. The man kept $51,750 after taxes.
It’s not the first time a winning ticket has slipped a lottery player’s mind.
In May, officials said a North Carolina woman almost forgot about a scratch-off that ended up hitting the jackpot.
And a South Carolina man hid his lucky ticket to keep it safe — but couldn’t remember where it was, McClatchy News reported in 2020.
BEHIND THE STORY
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 August 2, 2021 at 1:24 PM with the headline "None of his SC lottery tickets were winners. Then his dog found one he didn’t check."
