COLUMBIA, SC (April 3, 2009) – “Oh boy, how much did I win?” How about $875,000! That’s what Blacksburg resident Chris Dawkins won when his MegaMatch 6SM ticket matched the jackpot winning numbers for the March 20 drawing.
“I didn’t know I had a winning ticket,” Dawkins said. “I kept some tickets in my glove compartment for a few days before I stopped at a retailer to check the numbers. That’s how I found out I was a winner. It’s still sinking in.”
“I play MegaMatch 6SM because I like the odds of winning,” Dawkins added. The odds of winning the MegaMatch 6SM jackpot are 1 in 2,324,784.
The 39-year-old player plans to share his prize with his family and to give back by renovating a few houses for people who are struggling financially.
Dawkins purchased his lucky ticket at The Spinx Company #283 in Spartanburg.
A MegaMatch 6SM ticket costs $5 and has three rows of six numbers in each row. Players win by matching four to six numbers in a single row or by matching five or more numbers contained in all three rows for a combination win. Players can win up to four times on a ticket. Drawings are held Tuesday and Friday evenings at 6:59. The MegaMatch 6SM jackpot starts at $550,000 and grows at a minimum of $25,000 each drawing until won. Players have 180 days from the date of the drawing to claim their prizes.
Since the Lottery’s inception in 2002, the General Assembly has appropriated more than $2 billion for educational purposes through fiscal year 2009. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, more than 97 cents of every dollar spent by players on the South Carolina Education Lottery was returned to the state in the form of contributions to education, prizes, retailer commissions and payment to contractors for goods and services.
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