Okatie shop sells $1 million lottery ticket (updated: Beaufort man finally claims prize)

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Updated December 16: A Beaufort man finally has come forward to claim his $1 million prize from a state lottery ticket he bought last month in Okatie.

The Beaufort man has chosen to remain anonymous, though I'm pretty sure by buying a ticket you agree to allow your name and image to be used whenever the S.C. Lottery wants, so that anonymity likely won't last long.

“He said he just felt he was the winner,” the man's wife told lottery officials. “When he left the store he knew he won.”

Don't we all have that hunch? 

The Island Packet has a brief on the Beaufort man claiming his prize. Read it here.

The S.C. Lottery also sent out a release on the winner. The full release is below:

A “Good Feeling” Leads Beaufort Man to $1 MILLION Prize
12/15/2010 10:14:23 AM

COLUMBIA, SC (December 15, 2010) – After a conversation with the manager at the Kangaroo Express in Ridgeland this week, a Beaufort man walked out of the store with a strong feeling he was the missing millionaire. 

Early on he heard the $1 million winning raffle ticket had been claimed, but when the manager told him he heard wrong, the winner had yet to show up, he had a hunch he was the winner. 

“I had a good feeling,” he told lottery officials.

When he got home he pulled up the Lottery’s website. As he expected, the numbers (00165290) matched. He checked the ticket 20 or so more times enjoying seeing the numbers match. 

His Millionaire Raffle ticket was a $1 MILLION winner. He was right. He was a millionaire.

“He said he just felt he was the winner,” his wife shared. “When he left the store he knew he won.”

Unlike other lottery tickets the winner says have fallen victim to his neglect and ended up permanently glued together or rendered unreadable, this ticket received special treatment. He kept it safe in a drawer, away from the dirt and elements he’s exposed to while working. 

He took care of the ticket, and now the ticket is going to take care of his mortgage. 

The winner, who confessed to never having won anything before, did not want to release his name. Now, 28 days after the Millionaire Raffle drawing on November 16, he can claim he is a winner. 

“I’m still floored this happened to me,” the millionaire said.

Kangaroo Express #912 in Ridgeland sold the winning ticket and received $10,000. Every retailer that sells a claimed ticket of $10,000 or more earns a 1 percent retailer commission, capped at $50,000.

Reported Nov. 18: An Okatie gas station on S.C. 170 has sold a winning lottery ticket worth $1 million, the Island Packet reports.

Who's won still isn't clear. Head on over to the Island Packet for the brief writeup.

The winning ticket was sold as part of the S.C. Education Lottery's Millionaire Raffle contest.

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