Nearly 14,000 S.C. lottery players won Pick 3 Friday

Jan 30, 2017, 5:55 pm

 

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — A record number of South Carolina Education Lottery Pick 3 players started their weekend with a win.
13,996 players won with 4-4-4 in Friday's evening drawing.
Depending on the price paid for the ticket, winners took home either $250 or $500 per play.
Triple number combinations are by far the Lottery's most popular played sequences, this time resulting in a $3.5 million prize payout.
Friday night's draw surpasses the game's previous record number of winners set just last month, when triple 5s paid out $3.4 million to 13,657 winners on December 8.
This marks the tenth time 4-4-4 has been drawn by the Lottery. The last time 4-4-4 was seen was back in December of 2012.

Man wins lottery on his birthday thanks to mom's advice

Jan 26, 2017, 4:37 pm

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Here are 5 million reasons to listen to your mother.
A Delta Air Lines ramp agent took his mom's advice and bought a scratch-off lottery ticket on his 28th birthday — and it turned out to be a $5 million winner.
Clarke, who lives in Queens, said his mother, Andrea, gave him $50 on Dec. 19. The next day, while visiting his girlfriend in Brooklyn for a birthday celebration, Clarke stopped at the Friendly Deli & Grocery in Brownsville.
He bought two $10 "Set for Life" scratch-offs — but never imagined he would win.
"I didn't have high hopes," he said.
Back at his girlfriend's apartment, Clarke said he scratched one of the tickets and saw a match on number 16 with the word "Life" under it, indicating he had hit the jackpot. He recalled screaming "Whoo-whoo-whoo!"
"I started laughing and dancing all around the house," said Clarke.
The first person he tried to get on the phone? Dear old mom.
Andrea, 52, a hospital worker, said she had six missed calls from her son before they were finally able to speak.
"He called me and told me," she said. "I was really happy. I couldn't believe it."
The jackpot prize was $5 million, but instead of incremental payouts, Clarke opted to take the one-time lump sum of $2,453,693.
"I was very surprised that I won the jackpot and feel very blessed. It means I won't have to worry so much," said Clarke, who said he has no plans to quit his day job.
"There will always be something to worry about, but for once, it won't be about money."
His mother has been cautioning him about what to do with the millions, telling him to spend the money wisely and not to splurge or show off.
Clarke said he is looking forward to buying his own home, where his family can live.
"I'll take it one day at a time and see," he said about any other ideas of spending the money, like taking a vacation or buying a boat.
Store owner Mohamed Ali, 42, said he was thrilled to have sold the winning ticket to Clarke.
"He called me and told me. I couldn't believe it. I was happy for him," said Ali.
"This is the first time we've had a big winner. He's lucky."

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$83M Mega Millions jackpot claimed in Georgia

Jan 24, 2017, 7:22 pm

 

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Winners' identities cloaked by legal entity
It took some time, but the winners of an $83 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot have stepped up and claimed their prize — using a legal framework to avoid revealing their identities.
In November, the Mega Millions lottery announced that a winning ticket had been bought from Georgia. To be exact, the ticket was purchased from the White Water Chevron at 334 Cobb Parkway in Marietta.
Two months later, the winners have come forward and claimed their prize.
But who are they?
The state lottery agency Thursday said "members of ADirectConnection LLC" had won the the Nov. 18 Mega Millions drawing.
"If individuals decide to play in a group, prizes may be claimed by a single legal entity, such as a corporation, partnership or trust. Often times, winners consult with attorneys, accountants and financial advisors to decide what option is best for them," said Tandi Reddick, spokeswoman for the Georgia lottery.
It's not uncommon for winners to wait to claim their prize.
A 64-year-old woman from Dallas claimed her $7.5 million lottery prize in October three months after she knew she was a winner because she wanted time to plan.
For the $83 million prize, the agency had put the word out a few days after the drawing that no one had claimed the prize.
The business was formed 10 days after the drawing, according to state records. It is registered to a Sugarloaf Parkway address in Duluth that matches a psychiatrist's office.
The winners chose to receive the lump-sum cash option, which netted $50,826,699 before taxes.  The cash option gives the winners the entire cash amount of the jackpot up-front, rather than accruing interest and doling out payments over 29 years that would deliver millions of dollars more, albeit over a long stretch of time.
The winning numbers were 31, 32, 49, 55, and 58, with Mega Ball number 15. The store that sold the lucky ticket was White Water Chevron at 334 Cobb Parkway S. in Marietta.

Wisconsin $1M lottery ticket expires next week

Jan 24, 2017, 12:27

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MADISON, Wis. — Time is nearly out for a Wisconsin lottery player to claim a huge win.

A winning $1 million Powerball ticket was sold on Madison's east side for the Aug. 6 drawing, Wisconsin Lottery officials said.
Once lottery numbers are drawn, winners have 180 days to claim their prize. To meet that deadline, the missing Madison ticket must be claimed at the Wisconsin Lottery's headquarters at 2135 Rimrock Road in Madison, by 4 p.m. on Thursday, February 2, 2017.
"If the ticket is not redeemed by the deadline, the $1 million will be returned to Wisconsinites in the form of property tax relief," lottery spokesman Casey Langan said.
The winning numbers from the August 6, 2016 drawing were 20, 33, 36, 47, and 52, with Powerball number 12. The Power Play number was 3.
If the ticket expires, it won't be the first time. A $1 million ticket sold in Eau Claire in late 2015 expired in March of last year after the winner failed to come forward.