TV show inspires man to try lottery ‘experiment.’ It paid off big in South Carolina
A South Carolina husband tried a new “experiment” — and it paid off with a major windfall.
The man was watching the TV show “Lottery Changed My Life” when officials said he was inspired to try his luck for three months.
On his seventh straight week of buying lottery tickets, the man snagged a big Powerball prize. But he needed help figuring out how much he had won, according to the S.C. Education Lottery.
“I didn’t even know how to play Powerball,” the Charleston-area man said in a June 21 news release.
The winner was checking his ticket from a recent drawing when he thought it had only matched two numbers. Then, his wife helped him realize he matched five numbers — meaning he scored $100,000 and just missed an even bigger jackpot prize, officials said.
The man — who beat 1-in-913,129 odds to pocket the extra cash — doesn’t have plans to quit his “experiment.”
“I’m going to finish out the three months,” which ends in early July, the winner told the S.C. Education Lottery.
The man’s luck started when he set out on his weekly quest to spend $25 on lottery tickets. He said he won a $500 prize the first week then bought the next winning ticket at the Kwik Fill store in Hanahan, roughly 12 miles northwest of Charleston.
The man kept $69,000 after taxes and has since bought a car. He declined to be publicly identified, lottery spokesperson Holli Armstrong told McClatchy News in an email.
It’s not the first time a television show has led to a big lottery win.
In August, a man was in front of a screen when he noticed a combination of numbers that won him a jackpot prize, McClatchy News reported.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhen 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.
This story was originally published June 21, 2022 at 2:54 PM with the headline "TV show inspires man to try lottery ‘experiment.’ It paid off big in South Carolina."
