Columbia bachelor toying with how to spend $1 million

Drawing Date: 4/21/2015

April 29, 2015 - A Columbia, S.C., bachelor doesn’t know how he’s going to spend his $1 million Mega Millions win, but boy is he going to have fun figuring it out.

A fancy new car, a bigger home, and a worry-free retirement are all possibilities. “I still can’t believe it,” the winner said. “I’m stunned.”

Sunday, the retiree was checking a stack of lottery tickets online, crumpling up and throwing away non-winners as he went, when he stumbled upon a keeper.

“I saw one, two, three and then five numbers match,” he said. “I put the ticket down and came back a half hour later and checked the numbers again.”

Sure enough, a $1 Mega Millions ticket from the Eagle Express on Airport Blvd. in West Columbia matched the first five numbers (31, 33, 35, 41, and 69) but missed the Megaball number (11) drawn on Tuesday, April 21 to win $1 million.

Had the player spent the extra $1 for the Megaplier, his ticket would have been worth $5 million.

But at odds of 1 in 18 million, he has no regrets.

“I’m happy with what I’ve got,” the millionaire said.

For selling the claimed ticket, Eagle Express in West Columbia received a commission of $10,000.