Man wins $400m lottery jackpot with hot dog roll money

Published Sep 25, 2013

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The winner of a nearly $400 million (R3.9bn) Powerball jackpot had declined to be named, lottery officials said on Monday, but they said the winner, who lived in South Carolina, told them he bought the ticket while on a mission to buy hot dog rolls.

The man stopped at a petrol station in South Carolina after his wife asked him to pick up hot dog rolls, but after finding it had none, he bought $20 of Powerball tickets instead, the officials said.

His big win last week – the fourth-largest in the lottery’s history – occurred on just the second time he had purchased tickets, the man told lottery officials.

The winner told officials that he was home alone when he discovered on Thursday that he won. He spun around repeatedly in his kitchen and told only his dog about his good luck, officials said.

The man could claim his full prize of $399.4m paid over 29 years or opt for a more immediate cash payout of $233m, officials said.

For the state of South Carolina, the jackpot win meant an additional $15m in tax revenue, officials said. The lottery benefited education in the state, they said.

Murphy USA petrol station in Lexington, South Carolina, where the man bought the winning ticket, would be awarded $50 000 for its role, lottery officials said.

Powerball prizes have been getting larger, in part because the ticket price rose to $2 from $1 in January, and because California, the most populous US state, joined in April. – Reuters

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