In a heartwarming twist of fate, a man from South Carolina returned a lost winning lottery ticket only to find himself winning big just a couple of months later.
The anonymous good Samaritan stumbled upon a $500 winning Pick 3 ticket on the floor of a Murphy’s gas station, located near a Walmart in Myrtle Beach, back in February. This was confirmed by the South Carolina Education Lottery.
Demonstrating integrity, he asked the store manager to inform him if anyone came back in search of the misplaced ticket. True to his word, he returned it when the rightful owner appeared.
The man felt that his generous act might lead to good fortune for himself, and he was right.
“The ticket owner was so thankful to have it back that I felt a jackpot was in my future. I just had that feeling,” he expressed.
His instincts proved accurate when, on April 25, he bought a Palmetto Cash 5 ticket that matched all five winning numbers, earning him an impressive $586,000 prize.
The man only had a 1 in 850,668 of buying a ticket with all five winning numbers.
He said he plans to use his newfound riches to help others.
“I’ve been lucky in life and can use this prize to help some people, and maybe my story will encourage others to do the right thing,” he said.
He’s not the only person to strike luck in a gas station.
A Michigan man won a $1 million after purchasing an Electric 100s ticket at a Wesco station in Kent County.
The 31-year-old, who also chose to remain anonymous, stopped at the gas station to cash in another winning ticket worth $20.
Rather than pocket his win, he spent $10 on the ticket that wound up winning him seven figures.
“I scratched the ticket in the store, and when I saw that I had won $1 million, I started screaming!” he said.
