COLUMBIA, SC (January 30, 2026) – An Upstate man won $200,000 on a scratch-off ticket after stopping at a Simpsonville convenience store for a bag of pretzels.
He got the salty snack and two Holly Jolly Jackpot tickets at the Sunoco Food Mart on NE Main St. He says he was amazed when one of the $5 tickets won him the $200,000 top prize.
“I was going to wait until the next day to cash it in,” he said. “But I couldn’t. I went on to Columbia.”
He told South Carolina Education Lottery officials that the first thing he did with the prize money was pay off his car.
“It was a wonderful day,” he said.
The odds of winning $200,000 in the Holly Jolly Jackpot game are 1 in 760,000. One more top prize remains in the game.
For selling the claimed ticket, Sunoco Food Mart in Simpsonville received a commission of $2,000.
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