Billion-dollar jackpot tempted SC man to buy Powerball ticket that was a winner
When the Powerball grand prize recently swelled to more than $1 billion, it was too much for a Midlands man to resist, according to South Carolina Education Lottery officials.
When the man stopped at a Quik Trip store in December, he heard about the massive jackpot and decided to buy a ticket, officials said in a news release. Although he didn’t win the game’s grand prize, the man’s spontaneous decision paid off with a $150,000 reward, according to the release.
“It’s crazy,” he said in the release. “I’ve never won anything before.”
His ticket came within one number of winning the Powerball jackpot on Dec. 10, officials said.
The odds of matching four white numbers and the red ball number is 1-in-913,129, according to the release.
The winning numbers in the Dec. 10 Powerball drawing were 10, 16, 29, 33, 69 and Powerball: 22.
The six-figure winning Powerball game was sold at the Quik Trip gas station/convenience store at 2840 Paxville Highway, according to the release. That’s in the Manning area of Clarendon County.
Although the temptation of a $1 billion prize was strong enough to get the man to buy a Powerball ticket, it didn’t hold his attention for long. He didn’t check his ticket for weeks, officials said.
“I forgot about it,” he said, letting a couple of weeks slide by before having the ticket scanned at a store to see if he had won anything. He learned he was in fact a winner, but would have to wait to find out the size of his reward.
“I was told it was big money,” he said. “And that I would have to go to Columbia to get paid.”
The man displayed his patience again, waiting until after the holidays to make the trip to Columbia and redeem his prize, officials said.
The man did not say how he plans to spend his newfound windfall.
South Carolina is one of 11 states — along with Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas and Virginia — that allow lottery winners to remain anonymous.
The Quik Trip in Manning received a $1,500 commission for selling the winning game, according to the release.
In addition to the $150,000 winning game, a ticket that won a $50,000 prize was sold at a Pitt Stop in Lexington prior to the Dec. 10 drawing, officials said. Another ticket sold before that drawing at a CVS in North Charleston also resulted in a $100,000 jackpot for the buyer, according to the release.
The jackpot for the next Powerball drawing, on Monday night, will be for $137 million.
Anyone looking to buy a ticket must make a purchase by 9:59 p.m. Monday for the 10:59 p.m. drawing. Tickets are $2, and could cost more with additional options.
The odds of winning Powerball’s grand prize are 1-in-293 million.
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This story was originally published January 11, 2026 at 12:11 PM with the headline "Billion-dollar jackpot tempted SC man to buy Powerball ticket that was a winner."
