Lottery

Powerball jackpot could be Christmas miracle for lucky South Carolinians

The Powerball jackpot is set at $1.7 billion ahead of a Christmas Eve drawing.
The Powerball jackpot is set at $1.7 billion ahead of a Christmas Eve drawing. tglantz@thestate.com

It could be a Christmas miracle for a very lucky someone Wednesday night as the Christmas Eve Powerball jackpot is set at $1.7 billion.

The Wednesday jackpot is the fourth largest in Powerball history and among U.S. lottery games, according to a press release from the South Carolina Education Lottery.

Historically, Christmas Eve has produced one Powerball jackpot winner in 2011, and Christmas Day has produced four — in 1996, 2002, 2010 and 2013.

The odds of matching four of the first five ball numbers and the Powerball number are a slim 1 in 913,129. But that probably won’t stop South Carolinians from buying a ticket and hoping the Christmas spirit will be on their side.

The Hilton Head area has seen some big lottery wins over the past decade. Most recently, Blue Water at 475 Independence Boulevard in Hardeeville had a $2 million scratch-off win in 2023, according to the lottery.

Other recent Hilton Head-area wins include:

– $1 million Powerball win at Speedway at 421 William Hilton Parkway in 2021.

– $2 million Mega Millions win at Parker’s at 3462 Trask Parkway in Beaufort in 2020.

– $1 million scratch-off win at 3 Way Food Mart at 412 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Estill in 2017.

– $1 million Mega Millions win at Publix at 11 Palmetto Bay Road in Hilton Head in 2017.

Monday’s drawing produced four big wins: the Xpress Mart at 1315 Kendall Road in Newberry sold a $100,000 ticket, and $50,000 tickets were sold at Circle K at 1839 Celanese Road in Rock Hill and Food Lion at 5204 Highway 321 in Gaston. A DoublePlay ticket worth $50,000 was sold at Harris Teeter Fuel Kiosk at 1985 Folly Road in Charleston.

Laura Finaldi
The Island Packet
Laura Finaldi is an award-winning reporter and editor whose career has taken her everywhere from manufacturing companies in Massachusetts to dairy farms in rural Florida. Before joining the Island Packet in 2025, she was an editor at Homes.com in Richmond, Virginia and covered retail and tourism in Sarasota, Florida for five years. She has been published in the Worcester Business Journal, the Richmonder, Virginia Business, the Boston Globe and USA Today. 
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