Check your numbers. A winning Powerball ticket was sold at a South Carolina gas station
Powerball’s grand prize remained unclaimed after Wednesday’s drawing, meaning the jackpot has swelled to $1.4 billion.
But someone in the Midlands came extremely close to resetting the sweepstakes, buying a ticket that turned out to be one number shy of winning the grand prize, South Carolina Education Lottery officials said Thursday in a news release.
While the person who bought the ticket in downtown Columbia didn’t hit the jackpot, they will be rewarded with a $50,000 consolation prize, according to the release.
Now the search is on for the ticket buyer.
The ticket sold at the Amoco gas station/convenience store at 1421 Gervais St. matched four of the five white numbers and the red Powerball number, lottery officials said. That’s two blocks from the South Carolina State House.
The winning numbers in Wednesday’s drawing were 9, 35, 54, 63, 64 and Powerball: 1.
The winner has 180 days to claim the prize, according to lottery officials.
The winner 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 matching four white balls and the red Powerball for the prize are 1-in-913,129, according to the South Carolina Education Lottery website.
“Sign the back of your ticket and put it in a safe location until you’re ready to come forward to claim the prize,” lottery officials said.
For complete information on claiming prizes, go to sceducationlottery.com.
Amoco will receive a commission of $500 when the winning ticket is claimed and turned in to lottery officials, according to the release.
The now $1.4 billion grand prize will be at stake in the next Powerball drawing on Saturday night. It will mark the 34th drawing since the last grand prize winner back in July, lottery officials said. If the new jackpot is won, the ticket holder can choose a cash payout of $643 million.
Anyone looking to but a ticket for Saturday’s Powerball drawing, the third largest in the game’s history, must make a purchase by 9:59 p.m. for the 10:59 p.m. drawing, according to the release.
Tickets are $2, and could cost more with additional options.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1-in-293 million.
