Pick 3 prize amounts are fixed for each play type, so the most you can win is $500 for a Straight if you have wagered $1. However, some draws create much more excitement than others, when there are lots of winning tickets across the Palmetto State.
This typically happens when a ‘triple’ – three identical numbers – is drawn as the winning line. These are some of the most popular number combinations selected by players. The odds for any combination appearing in South Carolina are only 1 in 1,000 so, with 10 possible triples, it does happen from time to time. Here are some of the most memorable draws.
On Wednesday, April 12 2023, the Evening draw produced the winning numbers 1-1-1. In the very next drawing - Thursday’s Midday draw - the numbers drawn were 2-2-2. The South Carolina Lottery revealed that the two drawings had a total of more than 22,000 prize-winning tickets between them – about $5.5 million worth of wins altogether.
There is no Midday draw on Christmas Day, but the Evening Draw on December 25, 2022 proved to be more than enough for many players when the numbers 7-7-7 were drawn. There were 12,125 winning Straight plays, with each ticket holder landing $250 or $500. The total payout was just over $3 million, which was 10 times the amount that had been won the previous week. At the time, this was the 14th time that 7-7-7 had been drawn as the winning line.
The Pick 3 prize structure ensures that your prize will never be reduced, regardless of how many other players also win in the same draw. However, the South Carolina Lottery has established a limit to guarantee that it is never in a position where so many players have won that they cannot pay out everyone. This liability limit is set at $5 million per draw on any set of numbers, no matter which play type is selected.
If ticket sales for a particular set of numbers – for example a popular triple such as 7-7-7 – are so high that the total payout would be $5 million if those numbers were drawn, the selection of those numbers will be closed out for that particular draw. It could therefore happen that you wish to play 7-7-7 in an upcoming draw but would not be able to do so. You would have to choose another set of numbers, or wait to play 7-7-7 in another draw.
The limit can be amended at any time at the discretion of the South Carolina Lottery.