Multi-million dollar winning lottery ticket sold in SC. Check your numbers

A lottery ticket was sold at a South Carolina store that was one number shy of winning Tuesday’s $80 million Mega Millions grand prize, according to South Carolina Education Lottery officials.

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But because the game purchased at a Florence gas station/convenience store matched all five of the white ball numbers that were drawn, the lottery player won a $2 million consolation prize, officials said Wednesday in a news release.

It was the biggest prize to come out of Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing, and a search is underway to find the winner.

The seven-figure winning ticket was sold at the Yana Food Mart at 2819 W. Palmetto St. in Florence, according to the release. That’s near the junction of I-20 and I-95.

The winning numbers from Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing were 1, 20, 30, 46, 68 and Megaball: 17.

Because only the gold Megaball number wasn’t a match, the South Carolina ticket buyer won a $1,000,000 prize, which was doubled to a $2,000,000 payday because the Megaplier number was 2, officials said.

The odds of matching five white balls are 1-in-12,629,232, according to the release.

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The winner has 180 days to claim the prize, according to lottery officials.

The winner will be allowed to retain some privacy, as South Carolina is one of 11 states — along with Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas and Virginia — that allow lottery winners to remain anonymous.

“Sign the back of your ticket and put it in a safe location until you’re ready to come forward to claim the prize,” lottery officials said.

For complete information on claiming prizes, go to sceducationlottery.com.

Yana Food Mart will receive a commission for selling the winning ticket, when it is turned into lottery officials.

Because no grand prize winning ticket was sold, the payday for a winner in Friday’s Mega Millions drawing will be $90 million, according to the release.

Tickets are $5, with a megaplier included.

The odds of winning Mega Million’s grand prize are 1-in-290,472,336.