An Upstate woman wanted to buy both a Carolina Jackpot and a Clemson Jackpot scratch-off game when she was at a Walmart store, but only had enough money to get one ticket, South Carolina Education Lottery officials said.
The woman was forced to make a choice and said that the decision was easy because of her fundamental interests.
“I am a Carolina fan for life,” she said in a press release.
Her commitment to the University of South Carolina was strengthened when her choice was rewarded with a $200,000 jackpot, officials said.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “It means even more to be a Carolina fan now.”
The six-figure winning ticket was sold at the Walmart Neighborhood Market on Highway 14 in Simpsonville, according to the release. That’s about 40 miles from Clemson University and 90 miles from the USC campus in Columbia.
The winner said she wanted to buy tickets to both prominent South Carolina universities, but was forced to choose between them when she only got enough change back to buy one of the $5 games, officials said.
The woman said she will spend her new windfall on paying off her house and then help others, according to the news release.
The winner is allowed 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 – where lottery winners can remain anonymous. .
According to the publication, the odds of winning the top prize in the Carolina Jackpot game were 1 in 520,000. This was the first of three grand prize-winning tickets claimed, officials said.
According to the release, the Walmart store received a $2,000 commission for the sale of the claimed ticket.
