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Husband returns from doughnut run with big SC lottery win — but wife is skeptical

A South Carolina man’s stop for a doughnut took a lucky turn, officials said.
A South Carolina man’s stop for a doughnut took a lucky turn, officials said. Z Graphica via Unsplash

A man returned from his doughnut run with a winning lottery ticket — but his wife was skeptical.

“She didn’t believe me,” the $300,000 prize winner told the South Carolina Education Lottery in a Dec. 7 news release.

But the win was the real deal, and it left the couple racing to cash in on the husband’s winnings in Columbia, home to the lottery’s claim center. The couple made the 100-mile drive from Gaffney after the husband’s morning stop for a doughnut turned lucky, lottery officials said.

At Sunny’s Quick Stop gas station in Gaffney, he bought a doughnut and a drink. He also spent $10 on a ticket for the 5 Spot scratch-off game, according to officials.

It turns out, the man beat 1-in-660,000 odds to score the big windfall. He said he woke his wife with the good news, but she was in disbelief and demanded that he return to the gas station to check how much his ticket was worth.

After the husband went back to confirm the $300,000 win, his wife “got up and started getting ready.” That’s when the two reportedly “drove straight to Columbia.”

Now, the couple plans to get a new house. The winner, who wasn’t identified in the news release, kept $208,500 after taxes, lottery spokesperson Holli Armstrong told McClatchy News in an email.

It wasn’t the first time a lottery player wasted little time to claim a prize. Another South Carolina winner hit a jackpot and paused her shopping trip so she could cash in, The State newspaper reported in November.

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When 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.

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This story was originally published December 7, 2023 at 2:59 PM with the headline "Husband returns from doughnut run with big SC lottery win — but wife is skeptical."

Simone Jasper
The News & Observer
Simone Jasper is a service journalism reporter at The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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