Missing spaghetti sauce ingredient leads to $5 million lottery win

Aug. 27 (UPI) -- A New York state man said a missing ingredient for his family spaghetti sauce recipe led him to purchase a lottery ticket that won him $5 million.

John Lewis, 56, of Saranac Lake, told New York Lottery officials he stopped at the store before his shift as a bartender because he needed mushrooms to make spaghetti sauce using his father's old recipe.

"I ran to the store before work to get mushrooms for my spaghetti sauce," Lewis said. "It's a two-day sauce my dad used to make."

Lewis said he used $10 of his change from the mushroom purchase to buy a Set For Life scratch-off ticket from a vending machine at the store.

"I never put money in those things," he said. "What possessed me to be in that store at that time with just the right amount of money in my hand for that machine I will never know. I have been asking myself that question over and over for days. In the end though, I'm just glad it was me."

The ticket turned out to be a $5 million top prize winner. Lewis chose the option of receiving his prize money in $172,068 annual installments.

Lewis said he plans to help a family member with medical bills, but he has no other immediate plans for the windfall.

"I was planning on working at something till the day I died. This may open a few more doors, but we're happy with the life we have. It's a good life," he said.