She asked for Mega Millions game but SC woman mistakenly got winning Powerball ticket
It takes luck to win a lottery game.
An Irmo woman had blind luck on her side when she recently won $250,000.
The woman stopped at a Circle K convenience store/gas station and asked to buy a Mega Millions ticket. But the clerk mistakenly sold her a Powerball ticket instead, South Carolina Education Lottery officials said in a news release.
Walking out of the store with the wrong lottery game turned out right. Even though the Irmo woman didn’t hit the multi-million dollar jackpot, she still won the six-figure prize, according to the release.
The ticket matched four of the five white balls, along with the red Powerball number, according to the release.
The winning numbers from the May 2 drawing were 18, 27, 33, 39, 44 and Powerball: 8.
But in another twist, the woman didn’t realize she was holding the quarter-million dollar winning ticket until she was reminded about the drawing by her daughter, officials said.
Her daughter texted, saying there was a lottery winner in Irmo. Teasing, before she looked at her ticket, the woman responded with a text that said “I’m sure it’s me,” according to the release.
She soon found out her joke was on the money.
“I thought this can’t be. I checked the date, the game and the winning numbers over and over,” the winner said in the release. “I’m so grateful.”
The prize was initially $50,000, but because the woman bought the PowerPlay option for an additional $1, the prize increased to $250,000 when a “5” multiplier was drawn, officials said.
The woman will be allowed to retain some privacy, as South Carolina is one of eight states — along with Delaware, Kansas, Georgia, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio and Texas — that allow lottery winners to remain anonymous.
She didn’t get specific for her plans on spending the windfall, but told lottery officials she will help charities that she regularly supports.
The odds of winning $250,000 playing Palmetto Cash 5 are 913,129-to-1, according to the release.
The Circle K store at 7435 St. Andrews Road will receive a commission of $2,500 for selling the winning ticket. The store is in Irmo, near the intersection with Lake Murray Boulevard.
The next Powerball drawing will be held Monday, when the jackpot is estimated to be $90 million. The odds of matching all five white balls and the red Powerball number are 292,201,338-to-1.
This was the second time in the past month that a six-digit winning lottery ticket was sold at a Columbia area Circle K.
A woman who used her grandchildren’s ages when playing Palmetto Cash 5 won $300,000 on a ticket she bought at the Circle K on Parklane Road near S.C. 277 in Columbia, lottery officials said.
