Rodney Cochran, 61, won $1000 a day for life in the New York Lottery Cash4Life drawing held on August 31, 2014, but didn't realize he'd scooped the games top prize until the following day when he returned to the Bodega store where he purchased the winning ticket.
Full of excitement, the clerk told Cochran he'd sold a winning ticket in the previous evening' draw. Cochran took his ticket from his pocket and discovered he was the lucky winner.
Cochran picked up his life-changing prize last Friday and told New York Lottery officials he intends to pay off a few bills and take a vacation.
"Somewhere where the water is really, really blue," Cochran said. "Oh, and I’m gonna get a new car."