CANASTOTA -- A Canastota man won $5 million from a New York Lottery scratch-off ticket.
James Mason, 47, was presented with a $5 million ceremonial prize check on Tuesday morning.
Mason purchased the winning Set For Life scratch-off ticket at the Express Mart on North Peterboro Road in Canastota on January 7.
Mason is a paver by trade and has been playing the lottery for 25 years.
"I'm gonna still work, of course, and my wife's working. My family should be able to do things easier now, but it's not going to change us a bit. It's save, save, save. We have kids that have to go to college, and we are not going to waste that away," says Mason.
Mason, who owns five dogs, says he and his wife plan to donate dog food every week for the Wanderers Rest Humane Association in Canastota.
The New York Lottery says Mason was picking up milk when he decided to buy a scratch-off ticket. He scratched the ticket in his truck in the parking lot and immediately went back inside to have the clerk verify the ticket, but he had to wait until the next morning to take the ticket to the Lottery Customer Service Center in Syracuse.
The top prize on the Set For Life ticket guarantees a minimum payout of $5 million to be paid over 20 years. Mason has chosen to receive his prize in 19 annual payments.
This is the third time in the last eight years that a winning ticket of one million dollars or more was sold at the Peterboro Road Express Mart in Canastota.
