An anonymous couple from South Carolina is thanking their lucky stars after one of them realized their “losing” lottery ticket was actually a big winner.

The couple, described by the South Carolina Education Lottery in a July 25 news release as being from the “upstate” region of South Carolina, recently purchased a $5 Double Sided Dollars Extra Play lottery scratch-off ticket from a convenience store in Spartanburg. 

Spartanburg is a city in northern South Carolina, about 75 miles southwest of Charlotte, North Carolina. 

After scratching it, the wife did not think she’d won — so she threw the ticket away.

But her eagle-eyed husband noticed the ticket in the trash and saw something his wife had missed.

“You have a 12 on it,” the man recounted to the South Carolina Education Lottery, meaning that the ticket was not a loser after all.

He plucked the ticket from the trash and his wife kept scratching the card – discovering that she had won $200,000.

The couple told the South Carolina Education Lottery they’re “happy and thankful everything worked out.”

With their winnings, the two plan on buying a new house, they told lottery officials. 

The couple had a 1 in 750,000 chance of winning the $200,000 top prize in the Double Sided Dollars Extra Play, the South Carolina Education Lottery said.

The Double Sided Dollars Extra Play game went on sale on March 19, 2024, the South Carolina Education Lottery’s website said.

Three of the four top prizes of $200,000 have been claimed. 

A total of 32 second-place prizes of $1,000 are still available. 

Thousands of other prizes, ranging from $5 to $500, are also available. 

The South Carolina Education Lottery was created after a Nov. 7, 2000, referendum that saw residents of the state vote to approve the implementation of a state-run lottery, the lottery’s website said.

The South Carolina Education Lottery Act was ratified by the South Carolina General Assembly a little more than six months later, and the bill was signed into law. 

The first tickets for the South Carolina Education Lottery’s games were sold in March 2002, its website said. 

A quarter of the South Carolina Education Lottery’s proceeds go toward various educational programs in the state, according to the website. 

The rest go to prizes, retailer commissions and operating costs.

This amounts to more than $8 billion since 2002, according to the lottery. 

During the first 20 years of the lottery, more than 2.5 million scholarships have been distributed to South Carolina students, the website said.  

The South Carolina Education Lottery declined to provide additional details on the lucky couple’s big win.

GAFFNEY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) – All lanes are blocked due to a crash near the Green River Road Exit along I-85N in Gaffney, according to the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT).

As of 5 p.m. Saturday, traffic cameras show major back-ups in the area near Exit 87, near Green River Road and Old Post Road.

FOX Carolina has reached out to officials for more information. Stay with us as we work to learn more.

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There’s only so many true ways to really judge a football team. That’s through wins and losses and the product shown on the field.

But there are also other opportunities, not only limited to game action, where teams can show what they’re about.

After a 5-7 season last year, not everyone is super high on South Carolina in 2024. Not as much as they were heading into last season after the Gamecocks won eight games in 2022. The media picked them to finish 13th in the SEC standings for this upcoming season.

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From his vantage point, Shane Beamer knows last year was a disappointment. But more than a week removed from speaking at SEC Media Days in Dallas, he hopes people can see the potential in what the Gamecocks can bring to the table.

“I would hope that the message that came out from myself and the three players that were with me in Dallas last week is just the confidence we have right now in this team, the hunger that this team has, the joy that a lot of these guys have about being a part of this program, and how eager we are to get started,” said the fourth-year head coach at his annual Birdies with Beamer event on Thursday.

While in Dallas last week, Beamer fielded many questions about what’s going to change this year. He recognized why some aren’t bought into South Carolina in 2024. But that doesn’t really impact his thinking on what his team could do.

“I think that event’s always tough because I see you guys pretty much every week,” Beamer said. “But there’s a lot of guys that have not heard a thing that I’ve said since January, or really probably since November in a lot of ways. So it’s more of just kind of an update and here’s what’s going on in Columbia.”

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For 2024, Las Vegas has set the over/under for South Carolina wins at 5.5. The schedule is certainly tough, but it always is, especially in the SEC and with Oklahoma and Texas joining the conference.

Regardless of how anyone views South Carolina, Beamer still believes he has the team in place to get the job done. He harped on this last week in Dallas and continues to do so as the season approaches.

“We don’t base our decisions and our narrative based on what anyone on the outside thinks,” Beamer said. “There’s a confidence and hunger in our building. I think our guys are very eager to get to work and get out there and start competing on Aug. 1.”