National

$1 million Powerball ticket goes unclaimed for months in SC. Where was it sold?

A Powerball player won big — but hasn’t cashed in on the prize yet.
A Powerball player won big — but hasn’t cashed in on the prize yet. AP

A small South Carolina community is home to a big mystery: Who bought a winning Powerball ticket?

The question lingers as the ticket — worth $1 million — has gone unclaimed since October, the S.C. Education Lottery wrote in a Jan. 26 news release.

Three months ago, the lucky lottery player bought the ticket at an Exxon in Gable, roughly 60 miles southeast of Columbia. The gas station is in Clarendon County, home to about 31,000 people.

It turns out, the $2 ticket matched all five white balls picked in the Oct. 14 drawing. The numbers chosen that night were: white balls 14-16-42-48-64, with Powerball number 14, according to The State newspaper and the game’s website.

The South Carolina ticket matched five of the six numbers drawn, meaning it missed the game’s $23 million jackpot prize by one number.

No one hit the jackpot that night, so the South Carolina ticket holder and another lottery player from Nebraska were the biggest winners in the drawing. Both beat 1-in-11.6 million odds to win, officials said.

Though the Nebraska player came forward, the South Carolina prize was still unclaimed as of about 1:45 p.m. Jan. 26, lottery spokesperson Holli Armstrong told McClatchy News in an email.

Since South Carolina gives lottery winners about six months to cash in, the Powerball player still has time to collect the prize money. The lucky ticket expires April 11, officials said.

BEHIND THE STORY

MORE

When gambling is more than a game

Gambling is designed to be a source of entertainment.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

Read Next
Read Next
Read Next

This story was originally published January 26, 2024 at 3:15 PM with the headline "$1 million Powerball ticket goes unclaimed for months in SC. Where was it sold?."

Simone Jasper
The News & Observer
Simone Jasper is a service journalism reporter at The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Get one year of unlimited digital access for $159.99
#ReadLocal

Only 44¢ per day

SUBSCRIBE NOW