Ware Man Cashes In $390,000 Lottery Ticket Hours Before It Expires

BRAINTREE (CBS) – Just when it appeared that a significant lottery win was going to go unclaimed, a Ware resident stepped forward to claim his prize.

Nearly one year ago, Dennis Cote of Ware purchased a "Lucky for Life" lottery ticket at a gas station in Whately.

His random number combination turned out to be the winning one. Yet with hours to go before the ticket expired this week, the sum of $25,000 for life remained unclaimed.

But that changed when Cote drove to Massachusetts Lottery headquarters in Braintree with his winning ticket, claiming a one-time cash payment of $390,000 before taxes.

According to the state lottery, Cote discovered he won several months ago, but opted to wait to claim his prize until he did some financial planning and his schedule cleared up.

Cote told lottery officials that he plans to use his winnings to help pay off his mortgage in addition to investing some of the money.

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