News writer
Buying a lottery ticket is all about chance — but what if the odds were stacked against you before you even scratched? That's what investigators say happened at a South Carolina convenience store, where a clerk allegedly had his own way of trying to hit the jackpot.
Instead of leaving it up to luck, authorities claim he took a sneak peek at the tickets, scratching them off before slipping the losers back into the dispenser for unsuspecting customers. Now, his so-called shortcut has landed him in hot water, and the only thing he's cashing in is a trip to jail.
Tampering with lottery tickets
On November 9 and 10, 2024, Christopher Alexander Konwai, 29, allegedly tampered with South Carolina Education Lottery tickets while working at Krishna of Summerville Inc., located at 10002 Dorchester Road in Summerville, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Authorities said Konwai was reportedly scratching off the tickets to see if they were winning tickets. After scratching off the tickets, he would then put the losing tickets back into the dispenser to be sold to customers.
The incidents were recorded on surveillance cameras inside the business, and management was able to identify Konwai as the suspect.
An arrest was made
After an investigation into the incident, authorities arrested Konwai on February 3, 2025, and charged him with lottery fraud.
Konwai was officially charged with attempting to influence a game by coercion and tampering with lottery tickets, officials said. He was booked into the Dorchester County Detention Center.
Big winner sold in Rock Hill
While Konwai was trying to find a big winner among the scratch-off tickets in Summerville, there was a lucky player in Rock Hill who found one of those big winners — a $1 million winner, to be exact.
The lucky winner, who chose to remain anonymous, told lottery officials that he knew he was also going to hit it big. That feeling panned out for him after he bought a $10 scratch-off ticket at the Quick Food Mart, located on E. Main St. in Rock Hill.
That ticket happened to be a $1 million winner, and he couldn't wait to tell his wife. He told lottery officials, “I called her at work and said, 'I told you it was coming.'”
His intuition paid off, and now he's thrilled that he was right, and so is his wife. With the winnings in hand now, he told lottery officials that they plan on paying off the house.
The odds of winning $1 million in the Royal Millions game were 1 in 1.56 million. However, the game is no longer available for purchase.
This happened to be the final top prize available in the game, so now the tickets are no longer available for purchase. If you are still holding onto a winning Royal Millions ticket, you have until May 13, 2025, to claim your prize.
For selling the winning ticket, the Quick Food Mart in Rock Hill received a $10,000 bonus from the state lottery.
Enjoy playing the South Carolina Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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