31-03-2025
Gamecocks fan wins South Carolina lottery game's grand prize when he stops for gas
Being a Gamecocks fan paid off big for a Midlands man, as he won the grand prize on a South Carolina Education Lottery game that's adorned with USC's emblem on the ticket.
The man won a $200,000 jackpot, on a ticket that he bought for $5 at the Murphy Express gas station/convenience store at 210 Ricky Lane, officials said in a news release. That's in Columbia — ironically near Clemson Road.
And he has his wife to thank for winning the jackpot, according to the release.
She asked him to buy her a lottery ticket while filling up their car's gas tank at the Murphy Express, officials said.
'I got her a ticket,' he said in the release. 'Then I asked if they had the Carolina card.'
The avid Gamecock fan bought himself a Carolina Jackpot ticket and scratched it, but said he wasn't 100% sure that he won, according to the release. So the couple took the ticket to the Lottery's Claims Center in downtown Columbia where the win was confirmed and the ticket was cashed, officials said.
As for the couples' plans for their newfound windfall, they told officials that they plan to save the prize money.
The winners will be allowed to retain some privacy, as South Carolina is one of 11 states — along with Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas and Virginia — that allow lottery winners to remain anonymous.
The odds of winning the top prize in the Carolina Jackpot game were 1-in-520,000, according to the release. This was the last of the game's three top prize-winning tickets to be claimed, and it's no longer available for sale, officials said.
The Murphy Express gas station/convenience store received a commission of $2,000 for selling the claimed ticket, according to the release.
