‘Is this real?’ $2 million win leaves SC lottery player and her husband in disbelief
A South Carolina woman got a second chance at hitting the jackpot — and the outcome left her in disbelief.
“Is this real?” she asked when she received a call telling her she won $2 million.
It was no joke. It turns out, the lottery ticket that the woman had put into a second-chance drawing was chosen from more than 894,000 entries, the S.C. Education Lottery said Wednesday.
“I had to leave work,” the Greenville-area winner told lottery officials. “I was shaking and could barely talk.”
The woman, who lives in Piedmont but wasn’t identified in a news release, said she plans to go back to work and will also look for a house.
She had a stroke of luck after she entered a ticket that hadn’t won a prize into a Second-Chance Promotion for the Colossal Cash game. During the Oct. 6 drawing, officials said she matched enough numbers to score $2 million.
The woman’s husband also couldn’t believe her luck, at least not until she claimed the big prize in Columbia. She kept $1.38 million after taxes, according to S.C. Education Lottery spokesperson Holli Armstrong.
It’s not the first time that a lottery win has interrupted someone’s work plans in South Carolina.
In May, officials said a woman quit working at a South Carolina school after she got a big windfall.
Also this year, a jackpot winner told officials he planned to spend less time on the job, McClatchy News reported.
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 October 14, 2021 at 8:49 AM with the headline "‘Is this real?’ $2 million win leaves SC lottery player and her husband in disbelief."
