Good Samaritan who turned in missing $500 lottery ticket later wins massive jackpot

A South Carolina man returned a lost winning lottery ticket to its rightful owner — and two months later, he hit the jackpot himself.The man, who opted to remain anonymous, found a winning Pick 3 ticket worth $500 on the floor in a Murphy’s gas station in front of a Myrtle Beach Walmart in February, the South Carolina Education Lottery announced.He told the manager to notify him if anybody returned looking for the ticket, and kept his word when the ticket’s owner turned up.The man said he knew he was destined to hit the jackpot after performing that simple act of kindness.“The owner was so grateful to get the ticket back, that I knew I was going to hit the lottery after that, I just knew it,” he said.His premonition later came true.

On April 25, the man purchased a Palmetto Cash 5 ticket with all five of the winning numbers, securing him the whopping $586,000 jackpot.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....