Behind $400M Powerball Win: Wife Wanted Hot Dog Buns

Next time your wife asks you to do something, oblige ... and pick up a lotto ticket in the process. The winner of last week's $400 million Powerball jackpot came forward yesterday in South Carolina, and while he has chosen to remain anonymous, a few details of the Columbia man's win have emerged. Lottery officials say stopped to get gas at a Murphy Express gas station in Columbia the day of the drawing last Wednesday; while there, his wife called and asked him to buy some hot dog buns, reports WBTW.

He went inside to get them: There were no buns for sale, but after seeing the $400 million prize advertised, the winner bought $20 in lottery tickets, say lottery officials. He told them it was only his second time playing the lottery. The winner checked his ticket Thursday at his home and realized he was a winner. He told the only creature around: his dog. That dog, his wife and lottery officials may be the only people who know the winner for certain. South Carolina is one of only six Powerball states that allow winners to refuse to let their identities to be released. The others are Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, and Ohio. The jackpot was the fourth largest in the history of the game. (More Powerball stories.)