COLUMBIA, SC (April 29, 2011) – Nelson Eich and his wife Brenda are cooking up steaks this weekend. The food usually draws a crowd. Brenda is a fantastic cook. But this time, guests will be coming to hear Nelson tell how he won $300,000 playing the Lottery.
“I always wondered what it would feel like to have a winning ticket,” he said. “It is sweet.”
Nelson works in construction and buys a Palmetto Cash 5 ticket on his way home from work every night. He plays his own numbers, but Brenda has told her husband he should quick pick them sometime. A quick pick (1, 7, 20, 36, and 38) won him the $300,000 on Thursday night. He paid the extra $1 for Power-Up, which multiplied his $100,000 winnings by “3” to $300,000.
“He turned ashen, and I thought he was going to drop dead,” said Brenda when she saw her husband after he checked the winning ticket this morning. “He was hollering, and I told him we needed to walk outside and look at the flowers.”
The couple from Cowpens was already dressed for work. Brenda had to call her boss at Gaffney Middle School to say she wouldn’t be cooking food for the students today, but would be back on Monday. The couple also called their eight children to tell them the good news.
“We are out of debt,” said Nelson, who plans to pay off all of his bills, his mortgage and save the rest for retirement.
“I told him he gets half, and I get half,” joked his wife. And, like her husband, she’ll never get tired of telling the story. “I know they are having a fit to hear about it at work.”
The odds of winning the top prize playing Palmetto Cash 5 are 1 in 501,942.
Every retailer that sells a claimed ticket of $10,000 or more earns a 1 percent retailer commission, capped at $50,000. Country Corner Exxon in Anderson received $3,000.
“I always wondered what it would feel like to have a winning ticket,” he said. “It is sweet.”
Nelson works in construction and buys a Palmetto Cash 5 ticket on his way home from work every night. He plays his own numbers, but Brenda has told her husband he should quick pick them sometime. A quick pick (1, 7, 20, 36, and 38) won him the $300,000 on Thursday night. He paid the extra $1 for Power-Up, which multiplied his $100,000 winnings by “3” to $300,000.
“He turned ashen, and I thought he was going to drop dead,” said Brenda when she saw her husband after he checked the winning ticket this morning. “He was hollering, and I told him we needed to walk outside and look at the flowers.”
The couple from Cowpens was already dressed for work. Brenda had to call her boss at Gaffney Middle School to say she wouldn’t be cooking food for the students today, but would be back on Monday. The couple also called their eight children to tell them the good news.
“We are out of debt,” said Nelson, who plans to pay off all of his bills, his mortgage and save the rest for retirement.
“I told him he gets half, and I get half,” joked his wife. And, like her husband, she’ll never get tired of telling the story. “I know they are having a fit to hear about it at work.”
The odds of winning the top prize playing Palmetto Cash 5 are 1 in 501,942.
Every retailer that sells a claimed ticket of $10,000 or more earns a 1 percent retailer commission, capped at $50,000. Country Corner Exxon in Anderson received $3,000.
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