A Bluffton couple won $200,000 this month playing a "$200,000 Hot Streak" scratch-off ticket from the S.C. Education Lottery.
The couple, who were not identified and described only as being retired, cleared about $136,000 after taxes on the $10 ticket, according to lottery spokeswoman Holli Armstrong.
"They have already been paid," she said, adding that the award came in a "one-time cash payment."
The winning ticket was purchased from Food Lion supermarket in Okatie Village in Bluffton. For selling the winning ticket, the store receives a $2,000 commission.
According to a news release, the couple initially disagreed about the ticket's value. The husband believed it was worth $200,000, while his wife thought he had won just $200.
Lottery officials in Columbia settled the dispute: It was worth the full $200,000.
"I'm not sure how to handle this," the wife said, according to the release. "I didn't expect it to be that much."
In case you're wondering, the couple received a normal-sized check as payment, not an oversized, novelty version. Armstrong said the agency, which keeps several big checks on hand and can print them in-house, reserves those for major lottery jackpots such as Powerball.
Odds of winning a jackpot playing $200,000 Hot Streak are 1 in 480,000, according to the lottery. Only one $200,000 top prize in the game remains unclaimed.
Since 2002, the state lottery has awarded more than a million college scholarships and grants to South Carolina students, according to the release. About $2.8 billion in lottery proceeds have been used to support educational programs in the state.
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