C.J. Patel's phone rang the first time at 5 a.m. Wednesday with the news that his store on a rural crossroads outside Simpsonville had sold the most unlikely lottery ticket in history. The chances of winning the lottery were less than 1 in 300 million. The prize staggering: $1.537 billion. "I can't even count that number," Patel said six hours later, surrounded by media and well-wishers at his store, the KC Mart #7 at 303 Lee Vaughn Road. Outside, a couple of South Carolina Education Lottery officials hung up a banner that read "Luck Struck Here!" That one person in South Carolina had won the record $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot was clear early Wednesday morning. And though lottery officials announced by 11 a.m. that this person had bought the ticket at Patel's store, the winner's identity remained unknown even to those officials late Wednesday. The ticket buyer has 180 days to step forward, said Tony Cooper, the state lottery's chief operating officer, and that person can choose thereafter to keep his or her name private. During an afternoon news conference, Cooper spoke directly to the unknown winner and emphasized putting the ticket in a safe place after signing it. Lottery tickets are "bearer instruments," meaning whoever signs it and presents it to lottery officials with an ID gets the money. "If the winner is out there today listening to us, we would like to say to you, take a deep breath, put that ticket in a secure location, consult with a trusted adviser, a legal adviser, a trusted financial adviser, sign the back of that ticket ... take a few days, take that deep breath again, and call the lottery," Cooper said. "We will tell you who to go to." ICYMI:Want to win the lottery? These are South Carolina's 5 luckiest convenience stores Stores selling lottery tickets typically receive 1 percent of the proceeds but those are capped at $50,000. "Too bad for me," Patel said laughing, adding that he hopes all the attention will bring his store more business. After taxes, Patel will have about $30,000, which he said he will share with his four employees. Patel, born in the Gujarat state of India, has owned convenience stores around Simpsonville for about 20 years. He first came to the United States in 1996. Before marrying and starting a family with his wife, pharmacist Jayshree Patel, he said he slept in the back of his first store in Simpsonville. "This is the land of opportunity," Patel said. "We work hard for our kids." Regular customers streamed into Patel's store Wednesday to congratulate him and his employees. Taylor Sloan, who lives about two miles away on Jones Mill Road, said he had to see it to believe the news that Patel's store had sold the ticket. “You think maybe there’s a mistake or something, but there’s not.” Sloan held an energy drink and Rice Krispie treats in his hand. “These are just my excuse for coming by." Cynthia Eldridge chatted with Jee Patel, one of the KC Mart workers, trying to figure out who had bought the winning ticket. Some locals thought maybe the winner works at the nearby ZF transmission plant, she said. The winning ticket matched all six numbers in Tuesday night's drawing, said Holli Armstrong, a spokeswoman for the South Carolina Education Lottery. "We always come here," Eldridge said. "I had to get some gas and wanted to congratulate them." Patel said Wednesday afternoon that he hadn't yet had a chance to share the news with his three school-aged sons. He was sworn to secrecy until the official 11 a.m. announcement. Rumors swirled in the intervening hours. A Circle K on Garners Ferry Road in Columbia had previously told The Greenville News Wednesday morning that their store had sold the winning ticket, and store owners in Fountain Inn and Columbia also thought theirs might be the lucky spots. The lottery win is also good news for the state of South Carolina: income taxes off the prize money will amount to about $60 million, officials said. This is on top of about $10 million in ticket-sale proceeds that will fund education programs. This is South Carolina’s first Mega Millions jackpot win, according to the S.C. Education Lottery. Gordon Medenica, director of the Mega Millions Group and head of Maryland Lottery and Gaming, appeared on the Today show Wednesday morning to preview the planned announcement. “The moment we’ve been waiting for finally arrived, and we couldn’t be more excited,” said Medenica. “This is truly a historic occasion." ICYMI:South Carolina’s poor play the lottery, but the wealthier win the scholarships. Here’s why The jackpot was just shy of the world's largest ever lottery grand prize, according to lottery officials. The $1.537 billion prize reflects the annuity option, paid over 29 years. However, nearly all winners take the cash option, which for Tuesday's drawing was an estimated $878 million. The winning numbers were 5, 28, 62, 65, 70 and Mega Ball 5. The odds of matching all six numbers and winning the top prize was 1 in 302.5 million. South Carolinians among others took to social media Wednesday morning to either congratulate the winning ticket holder or share their grumblings over not being the lucky winner themselves. "One of my fellow South Carolinians woke up as a very rich person today," Christy Stafford of North Augusta posted Wednesday morning to Facebook. People in other states also joined the conversation. "Do I have any friends in South Carolina? Just trying to plan my weekend...," wrote Kelly Bowman of Altoona, Pennsylvania, in a Facebook post with a screenshot of a news alert about the jackpot. "Dang! It wasn’t me. I guess I’ll just go into work today," Chris Holeman, of Somerville, Alabama, wrote on Facebook. Mega Millions is played in 44 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. MORE:If you win the lottery, you can buy all of the listed homes in Greenville and Anderson Lottery officials and financial managers encourage winners to carefully map out a strategy for investing their hundreds of millions of dollars, and consider security measures befitting someone who suddenly is immensely wealthy. Winners in South Carolina have 180 days to claim their prize (other states give winners up to a year). But the public may never know who claims the jackpot. In eight states — South Carolina, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio and Texas — winners can remain anonymous, but in the others their identities are made public. "I have no clue. No idea. We had a lot of customers yesterday, so I have no idea,” Patel said when asked if he knew who bought the winning ticket. The Mega Millions jackpot grew so large because it had been nearly three months since a player had matched all six numbers and won the top prize. The last time that happened was July 24, when 11 co-workers from California won a $543 million prize. Although Tuesday's jackpot was extraordinarily large, it's no fluke. It reflects a trend toward ever-growing lottery prizes due to changes in the game that worsened the odds with hopes that bigger jackpots would result in better sales. OTHER NEWS:One of Greenville County's most wanted fugitives arrested in Detroit Officials with the Powerball game were the first to make that move in October 2015 when changing the odds of winning the jackpot from 1 in 175 million to 1 in 292.2 million. Mega Millions followed suit in October 2017, resulting in the odds worsening from 1 in 259 million to 1 in 302.5 million. While most attention has been on the Mega Millions game, Powerball also has been soaring. The estimated prize for Powerball's annuity option in Wednesday night's drawing is $620 million, with a cash prize of $354.3 million. TOP 10 A look at the 10 largest U.S. jackpots that have been won and the states where the winning tickets were sold: 1. $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee) 2. $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, South Carolina) 3. $758.7 million, Powerball, Aug. 23, 2017 (one ticket, from Massachusetts) 4. $656 million, Mega Millions, March 30, 2012 (three tickets, from Kansas, Illinois and Maryland) 5. $648 million, Mega Millions, Dec. 17, 2013 (two tickets, from California and Georgia) 6. $590.5 million, Powerball, May 18, 2013 (one ticket, from Florida) 7. $587.5 million, Powerball, Nov. 28, 2012 (two tickets, from Arizona and Missouri) 8. $564.1 million, Powerball, Feb. 11, 2015 (three tickets, from North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Texas) 9. $559.7 million, Powerball, Jan. 6, 2018 (one ticket, New Hampshire) 10. $543 million, Mega Millions, July 24, 2018 (one ticket, California) The Associated Press contributed to this report.<doc-sep>Today’s Headlines The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning. 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This is South Carolina's first Mega Millions jackpot win. Simpsonville, SC (WLTX) - The one Mega Millions ticket matching all six numbers was sold at a gas station in Simpsonville, South Carolina Education Lottery officials have now confirmed. The agency said late Wednesday morning the ticket was purchased at KC Mart #7 at 303 Lee Vaughn Road in Simpsonville. This is South Carolina’s first Mega Millions jackpot win. The winner should sign the back of the ticket, put it in a safe location, seek financial or legal advice from a trusted source, and call the Lottery. The winner has 180 days to come forward to claim the ticket. Mega Millions officials said the jackpot for Tuesday night's drawing was $1.537 billion, just short of the record for all lotteries. Tuesday's winning numbers were 5, 28, 62, 65, 70 and Mega Ball 5. The jackpot was initially listed as $1.6 billion, what would've been the highest lottery ever. But Mega Millions officials said Wednesday the jackpot was several million dollars less. It was unclear what caused the discrepancy. The biggest jackpot in U.S. history was the $1.586 billion Powerball prize in January 2016. “The moment we’ve been waiting for finally arrived, and we couldn’t be more excited,” read a statement from Gordon Medenica, Lead Director of the Mega Millions Group. “This is truly a historic occasion. We’re so happy for the winner, and we know the South Carolina Education Lottery can’t wait to meet the lucky ticket holder.” While lottery officials will meet the winner -- or winners if the ticket was bought as part of a pool -- the general public may never know the identity. South Carolina allows lottery winners to remain anonymous. Most winners opt for the cash reward, which, in this case, was $878 million, lottery officials said. That number is likely to fall even more as other taxes come into play. The jackpot has been growing since July, when a group of California office workers won $543 million. The updated jackpot for Friday's drawing -- which could have reached $2 billion had there been no winner -- was announced at $40 million. Thirty-six people won $1 million, with two winning $3 million because they opted to get the Megaplier, which was 3x. It costs $2 to play the game, but the odds of matching all six numbers and taking home the grand prize is a dismal 1 in 302.5 million.