Woman Gets Wrong Lottery Ticket, but Still Ends Up Winning Game’s Grand Prize

A South Carolina woman won big earlier this month after a store clerk ended up giving her the wrong lottery ticket and inspired an unusual decision, officials said. 

The anonymous woman, from Darlington, went to get a Palmetto Cash 5 ticket from a local Piggly Wiggly when she noticed a problem, the South Carolina Education Lottery said in a Thursday, Sept. 25, news release.

The store employee accidentally gave her the wrong lottery ticket. 

Before the woman had a chance to play it, though, the clerk realized the mistake and offered to correct it and the woman agreed to keep her $2 Palmetto Cash 5 ticket — with one important difference.

The woman decided to tweak her usual routine by picking different numbers. 

“I got a quick pick [of randomly selected numbers],” she said.

It all worked in her favor, to the tune of a $303,000 jackpot. Winners have long odds indeed — one in 850,668, officials said.

“If the clerk hadn’t made a mistake, I wouldn’t have won,” the woman said of her Sept. 4 drawing. 

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As for how she will spend her newfound fortune, the winner said she plans to use it for home renovations.

If you or someone you know is struggling with a gambling problem, please contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline Network at 1-800-522-4700 or go to gamtalk.org.