From 1976 to 1980 he served as a Corporal in the US Marine Corps which included a tour in Lebanon. He enjoyed traveling, ice fishing and hunting. He was unmarried and childless and got by with a series of odd jobs in construction, like working as a roofer, in the highway department and at a local ski resort. About 2005 he bought a tavern, the Orange Inn in Naples, Ontario County, New York.
Both his parents died of cancer in the 1990s and he increased his odds of coming down with it too, due to his longtime pack-a-day smoking habit. In mid December 2006 at age 50 he received the grave news that with treatment, he had only 12 to 16 months left to live. He didn't have any health insurance and as he became ill he was no longer able to work and his tavern business was losing money. The Veteran Affairs Hospital in Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York agreed to provide him with radiation and chemotherapy. In order to survive, he needed more aggressive cancer treatment but the resources of Veteran Affairs were limited. He requested a transfer to cancer centers in Pennsylvania and New York, but both were out of their network and required patients to pay $125,000 upfront and have $250,000 in reserve. He simply didn't have that kind of money. Although he considered selling his tavern, he knew a real estate deal would take too long and might not net enough money to pay for the specialized medical care he needed.
With nothing to lose, he decided to play the lottery. Surprisingly, the long shot paid off.
On 12 January 2007 he won $1 million from a $5 scratch-off ticket in the New York State Lottery's High Stakes Blackjack game. The odds of someone his age developing cancer are roughly 1 in 5,000; the odds of winning the jackpot in that scratch-off game were 1 in 2,646,000.
But the sudden windfall did not solve his health or financial problems. According to lottery regulations, the prize money could only be paid out in 20 annual installments of $50,000. He didn't have that kind of time. He needed the lump sum award, so he could enter a hospital that specialized in treating advanced cancer to improve his chances of survival. Lottery officials said they were sympathetic but they had to abide by the rules and regulations and therefore couldn't give him the lump sum he needed.
In his final days he married his longtime girlfriend on 4 April 2007 ... he was so ill during the wedding ceremony that he had to breathe through an oxygen tank. In the end, he only received the first of his 20 payments, which after taxes, amounted to about $34,000. He left the remainder of his lottery winnings to his wife who was with him when he died @51 at the Veterans Administration Hospital. Arrangements were by the Baird-Moore Funeral Home.
Both his parents died of cancer in the 1990s and he increased his odds of coming down with it too, due to his longtime pack-a-day smoking habit. In mid December 2006 at age 50 he received the grave news that with treatment, he had only 12 to 16 months left to live. He didn't have any health insurance and as he became ill he was no longer able to work and his tavern business was losing money. The Veteran Affairs Hospital in Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York agreed to provide him with radiation and chemotherapy. In order to survive, he needed more aggressive cancer treatment but the resources of Veteran Affairs were limited. He requested a transfer to cancer centers in Pennsylvania and New York, but both were out of their network and required patients to pay $125,000 upfront and have $250,000 in reserve. He simply didn't have that kind of money. Although he considered selling his tavern, he knew a real estate deal would take too long and might not net enough money to pay for the specialized medical care he needed.
With nothing to lose, he decided to play the lottery. Surprisingly, the long shot paid off.
On 12 January 2007 he won $1 million from a $5 scratch-off ticket in the New York State Lottery's High Stakes Blackjack game. The odds of someone his age developing cancer are roughly 1 in 5,000; the odds of winning the jackpot in that scratch-off game were 1 in 2,646,000.
But the sudden windfall did not solve his health or financial problems. According to lottery regulations, the prize money could only be paid out in 20 annual installments of $50,000. He didn't have that kind of time. He needed the lump sum award, so he could enter a hospital that specialized in treating advanced cancer to improve his chances of survival. Lottery officials said they were sympathetic but they had to abide by the rules and regulations and therefore couldn't give him the lump sum he needed.
In his final days he married his longtime girlfriend on 4 April 2007 ... he was so ill during the wedding ceremony that he had to breathe through an oxygen tank. In the end, he only received the first of his 20 payments, which after taxes, amounted to about $34,000. He left the remainder of his lottery winnings to his wife who was with him when he died @51 at the Veterans Administration Hospital. Arrangements were by the Baird-Moore Funeral Home.
From 1976 to 1980 he served as a Corporal in the US Marine Corps which included a tour in Lebanon. He enjoyed traveling, ice fishing and hunting. He was unmarried and childless and got by with a series of odd jobs in construction, like working as a roofer, in the highway department and at a local ski resort. About 2005 he bought a tavern, the Orange Inn in Naples, Ontario County, New York.
Both his parents died of cancer in the 1990s and he increased his odds of coming down with it too, due to his longtime pack-a-day smoking habit. In mid December 2006 at age 50 he received the grave news that with treatment, he had only 12 to 16 months left to live. He didn't have any health insurance and as he became ill he was no longer able to work and his tavern business was losing money. The Veteran Affairs Hospital in Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York agreed to provide him with radiation and chemotherapy. In order to survive, he needed more aggressive cancer treatment but the resources of Veteran Affairs were limited. He requested a transfer to cancer centers in Pennsylvania and New York, but both were out of their network and required patients to pay $125,000 upfront and have $250,000 in reserve. He simply didn't have that kind of money. Although he considered selling his tavern, he knew a real estate deal would take too long and might not net enough money to pay for the specialized medical care he needed.
With nothing to lose, he decided to play the lottery. Surprisingly, the long shot paid off.
On 12 January 2007 he won $1 million from a $5 scratch-off ticket in the New York State Lottery's High Stakes Blackjack game. The odds of someone his age developing cancer are roughly 1 in 5,000; the odds of winning the jackpot in that scratch-off game were 1 in 2,646,000.
But the sudden windfall did not solve his health or financial problems. According to lottery regulations, the prize money could only be paid out in 20 annual installments of $50,000. He didn't have that kind of time. He needed the lump sum award, so he could enter a hospital that specialized in treating advanced cancer to improve his chances of survival. Lottery officials said they were sympathetic but they had to abide by the rules and regulations and therefore couldn't give him the lump sum he needed.
In his final days he married his longtime girlfriend on 4 April 2007 ... he was so ill during the wedding ceremony that he had to breathe through an oxygen tank. In the end, he only received the first of his 20 payments, which after taxes, amounted to about $34,000. He left the remainder of his lottery winnings to his wife who was with him when he died @51 at the Veterans Administration Hospital. Arrangements were by the Baird-Moore Funeral Home.
Both his parents died of cancer in the 1990s and he increased his odds of coming down with it too, due to his longtime pack-a-day smoking habit. In mid December 2006 at age 50 he received the grave news that with treatment, he had only 12 to 16 months left to live. He didn't have any health insurance and as he became ill he was no longer able to work and his tavern business was losing money. The Veteran Affairs Hospital in Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York agreed to provide him with radiation and chemotherapy. In order to survive, he needed more aggressive cancer treatment but the resources of Veteran Affairs were limited. He requested a transfer to cancer centers in Pennsylvania and New York, but both were out of their network and required patients to pay $125,000 upfront and have $250,000 in reserve. He simply didn't have that kind of money. Although he considered selling his tavern, he knew a real estate deal would take too long and might not net enough money to pay for the specialized medical care he needed.
With nothing to lose, he decided to play the lottery. Surprisingly, the long shot paid off.
On 12 January 2007 he won $1 million from a $5 scratch-off ticket in the New York State Lottery's High Stakes Blackjack game. The odds of someone his age developing cancer are roughly 1 in 5,000; the odds of winning the jackpot in that scratch-off game were 1 in 2,646,000.
But the sudden windfall did not solve his health or financial problems. According to lottery regulations, the prize money could only be paid out in 20 annual installments of $50,000. He didn't have that kind of time. He needed the lump sum award, so he could enter a hospital that specialized in treating advanced cancer to improve his chances of survival. Lottery officials said they were sympathetic but they had to abide by the rules and regulations and therefore couldn't give him the lump sum he needed.
In his final days he married his longtime girlfriend on 4 April 2007 ... he was so ill during the wedding ceremony that he had to breathe through an oxygen tank. In the end, he only received the first of his 20 payments, which after taxes, amounted to about $34,000. He left the remainder of his lottery winnings to his wife who was with him when he died @51 at the Veterans Administration Hospital. Arrangements were by the Baird-Moore Funeral Home.
