‘We got back in the car and screamed.’ Friends celebrate spring break SC lottery win
A college student took a spring break trip to South Carolina — and became a jackpot winner on her way back to campus.
The woman was vacationing with friends on Hilton Head Island before she snagged a lottery ticket worth $30,000, officials said April 18 in a news release.
“We got back in the car and screamed,” the winner told the S.C. Education Lottery. “It still doesn’t feel real.”
The group had the celebratory moment after stopping at the Corner Pantry in Florence, officials said. The convenience store is near Interstate 95 and roughly 75 miles northwest of Myrtle Beach.
While at the business, the college student tried her luck on a ticket for the Wild Win! game. It turns out, her ticket beat odds of 1 in 528,000 to score the game’s top prize.
The woman took home $20,700 after taxes, S.C. Education Lottery spokesperson Holli Armstrong told McClatchy News in an email.
“It’s great that it’s the Education Lottery, because my win is going toward my education,” the lucky college student said, according to lottery officials.
The winner — who is from California and declined to be identified publicly — isn’t the only person to score a lottery prize while on vacation.
In 2020, officials said a man visiting North Carolina won big while buying supplies for a family cookout.
Another tourist hit the jackpot while making a pit stop in a small South Carolina town, McClatchy News reported in 2021.
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This story was originally published April 18, 2022 at 3:19 PM with the headline "‘We got back in the car and screamed.’ Friends celebrate spring break SC lottery win."