Syracuse (WSYR-TV) -- A Syracuse man received a big check from the New York State Lotto this morning! Patrick Clement won the top prize on the New York Lottery’s Win $1,000,000 A Year For Life instant game.
Clement, a landlord bought the winning ticket from the Byrne Dairy on West Genesee Street in Syracuse.
"It's like nothing I've ever experienced before," Clement said. "I went in the store to buy a ticket - not even this ticket - and came out with more than I bargained for."
At first, Clement asked the cashier at Byrne Dairy to just throw the ticket away, because he looked at the code and thought it was a non-winner. But something told the cashier to check it in the machine, just in case. That’s when a message appeared to “file a claim at the lottery office”. That only happens when the winnings are big.
“He was going by the code, which I tell all of our customers not to do because you just never know!” said Nancy Torres, cashier at the Byrne Dairy.
Clement was guaranteed a minimum prize of $20,000,000 for the rest of his life. He’ll take home about $660,300 a year after taxes.
