COLUMBIA, SC (November 22, 2024) – A Hartsville lottery player is waiting until next year to spend a $500,000 prize.
“I want to pay the taxes first,” he told South Carolina Education Lottery officials.
For now, he is living life as normal and planning for a no-frills Christmas. “It is like nothing happened,” he said.
But this year was certainly life changing for him. Several weeks ago, he stopped in the First Stop on W. Bobo Newsom Hwy. in Hartsville to cash in a ticket worth $20. He bought another scratch-off, won again and used those small winnings to buy the $20 ticket that won him half-a-million dollars.
“When I saw all the zeroes, I thought ‘Woah!’” he said. “I put the ticket in my back pocket and walked out of the store.”
While he recognizes most winners would not want to wait to enjoy their prize, he says taking care of the taxes first is the right decision for him. “The win makes me comfortable,” he said.
The win leaves two top prizes of $500,000 in the Cash King game at odds of 1 in 1,500,000.
First Stop in Hartsville received a commission of $5,000 for selling the claimed ticket.
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