COLUMBIA, S.C. — Well, first, let's just say congratulations! And are you sure we're not related?
But seriously, if you've won over $500 in one of South Carolina's lotteries, what do you do?
The S.C. Education Lottery offices are closed just now as the state responds to the coronavirus outbreak so you can't just drive over to a lottery office and have them cut you a check.
So, now what?
Here's what the lottery says you should do.
First, remember the safest thing to do is to sign your ticket and keep it in a safe place. If you can wait and it won't expire, wait till the S.C. Lottery offices reopen.
Prizes of $100,000 or less can be claimed by mail. Players can mail their signed winning ticket along with a copy of a picture identification (driver’s license, state or military I.D., or passport) and a completed claim form to the address on the back of the ticket. Claim forms are available at sceducationlottery.com. Officials say a check will be mailed as quickly as possible. Remember, the risk of ticket loss remains with the player, so players should make a copy or take a picture of the front and back of their winning ticket for their records.
If you have a winning prize of more than $100,000, please call the Lottery at (803) 253-4004 and follow the prompts when leaving a message. Players should sign the back of a winning ticket and keep their tickets in a safe location.
Winning tickets that expired or will expire on or after March 17, 2020, will be accepted and processed for a period of time designated by the Lottery. These tickets may be submitted by mail or presented in-person upon the reopening of the Claims Center.
For information on instant games where the closing date for claims is past March 17, 2020, please visit sceducationlottery.com.
All other tickets that expired prior to March 17, 2020 cannot be redeemed.
And remember, winning tickets for less than $500 can be cashed in at any store in South Carolina that sells lottery tickets.