Big jackpot follows heartbreaking news for upstate man

Thursday, February 01, 2007 posted 03:15 PM EST

NAPLES, N.Y. In December, Wayne Schenk was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

A month later, he was a (m) millionaire.

But he would have to live another 20 years to actually get that amount, and his doctors have given him a year to live, at most.

The 50-year-old tavern owner from Naples, a Finger Lakes town 30 miles south of Rochester, won a (m) million dollars in a New York state lottery scratch-off game.

But the Marine Corps veteran doesn't expect to be around to collect all his winnings.

Under lottery rules for the High Stakes Blackjack game he won on January 12th, the jackpot winner receives the cash in annual installments over 20 years.

That's 50-thousand dollars before taxes. Schenk picked up his first payment last week -- 34-thousand dollars after taxes.

Other than another hunting trip to Alaska, Schenk says he doesn't want to buy anything fancy with his winnings. He says he just wants more time.

Related Links
	Lottery News & Stories
	New York Lottery Results
	Search Past New York Lottery Winning Numbers