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'Disclaimer' about lottery of litte value

The warning is commonplace. It is a part of the legal foundation of the South Carolina Education Lottery.

This past week, as the date for the multistate Powerball drawing was approaching, the South Carolina lottery administration put out a statement urging people to "play responsibly" in attempts to win the $210 million jackpot.

"Powerball is only a game," SCEL Executive Director Ernie Passailaigue said. "The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 120 million. Players should consider this when purchasing their tickets. It only takes one ticket to win."

Indeed. And no matter how much the lottery folks preach that Powerball and other games are just games, they are more to a lot of people. As much as it shouldn't be, people are playing to win money and with the idea that the lottery is their only chance of getting rich in life.

Then it happens. There's a winner from a ticket sold right here in South Carolina.

Norman Shue, 33, and his wife, DeAnna, 29, of Concord, N.C., walked into the Columbia Claims Center Monday with one of two winning Powerball tickets worth $110.75 million each.

The couple will receive $110.75 million over the next 29 years if they choose to take the annuitized payments. Or if they chose the one-time cash option, they will receive more than $60.1 million dollars minus state and federal taxes.

His experience is so typical of winners of such jackpots -- and reinforces the luck aspect.

Norman was traveling through South Carolina on New Year's Eve and decided to play for the big jackpot. He purchased $20 in Powerball quick picks at Clover Shop & Save in Clover.

"The first ticket that printed was the winner," Norm said. "And just think, the guys at work said I was wasting my money."

The Shues did not watch the Powerball drawing on New Year's Eve. It wasn't until New Year's Day when Norm decided to check the numbers on the SCEL's Web site. Once he realized an all-points bulletin for the winner was released to the media, reality began to set in.

"When I heard them announce the name of the store, that's when I knew it had to be true," Norm said. "It's so overwhelming, I can't believe it's real."

As for Coit McCarter, owner of Clover Shop and Save, his store will receive $50,000 for selling the winning Powerball ticket. "The selling bonus will go to the store's general fund and the employees will receive a bonus," he said.

So the Powerball jackpot will again begin to grow. It may be a long time before the winning amount equals a number as high as $210 million (the fifth largest Powerball jackpot ever), but it won't be long before a whole lot of South Carolinians and others increase purchases of Powerball tickets in hopes of cashing in. Look for play on other games to pick up, too, amid the publicity about winning the Powerball.

It's just a fact of life that gambling is gambling and people pay and play to win. A lot of people without the financial means will continue playing. And an individual gambling on striking it rich will find a way to spend the money whether it's a state lottery or some other bet. Government-sanctioned or government-operated gambling is not to blame. The appropriateness of it is a matter of individual viewpoint.

But South Carolinians should not fool themselves. It makes sense to urge caution among gamblers, but official words about amusement are no more than a disclaimer coming from the very organization making its money from selling the tickets.