COLUMBIA, S.C. — Thousands of South Carolina lottery winners took the title of the "Pick 3" game literally - and it paid off.
The South Carolina Education Lottery announced that more than $4.2 million is being paid out for 16,852 winning straight play tickets. The winning numbers were 3-3-3 and that's what the winners chose.
Depending on what they paid for the tickets, the winners took home either $250 or $500 per play.
Lottery officials said this also shattered the previous payout record that was set with 13,998 winning straight plays. Interestingly enough, the triple-4 combo that led to this big win two years ago was drawn around the same time - on Mother's Day which was May 9 of that year.
According to a statement from the South Carolina Education Lottery, triple number combos are the lottery's most popular sequences and Thursday's jackpot produced 20 times the number of wins compared to just a day earlier.
And picking three for the "Pick 3" game does have a history of occasional success. Officials said this is the 15th time 3-3-3 has been drawn with the last time being back in October of 2021.