Lottery winner waits SIX YEARS to cash in his $5million ticket… to make sure his fiancée married him for love and NOT his money

Andy Ashkar, 34, and Nayel Ashkar, 36, came forward just 11 days before the top prize would have expired

Andy Ashkar bought ticket at his parents' store in Syracuse in 2006



Said he didn't want the windfall to influence his engagement and marriage



Man with money: Andy Ashkar, 34, of Camillus, came forward on March 1, just 11 days before the top prize in the '$500,000,000 Extravaganza' scratch-off game would have expired

A lottery winner waited six years to claim his $5million prize to ensure his fiancee married him for love and not his money.



Andy Ashkar, 34, of Camillus, came forward on March 1, just 11 days before the '$500,000,000 Extravaganza' scratch-off card would have expired, New York Lottery said.

Mr Ashkar said he bought the ticket at his parents' convenience store in Syracuse in 2006 and has decided to share the winnings with his brother Nayel.



The agency said the younger brother said he waited so long to claim his prize because he was concerned the windfall could 'negatively influence' his life if he didn't plan properly before being publicly introduced as the winner.

Andy Ashkar also told lottery officials that he also didn't want the windfall to influence his engagement and subsequent marriage.



Calls to phone numbers listed for the Ashkar brothers went unanswered Wednesday morning.

The brothers' mother, Wasa Ashkar, said her husband, Neyef, sold the winning ticket to Andy at the couple's Green Ale Market, but she couldn't remember exactly when.



In an interview with MailOnline, Mrs Ashkar said that they are now known as 'the good luck' store because of her son's big win.



She said that while they have never had a similar multi-million dollar win, there have been a number of smaller victories in their shop. A few years ago, a woman won $700,000 in a similar scratch-off game.

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Lucky win: Andy Ashkar bought the ticket at his parents' convenience store in Syracuse in 2006, pictured

She said she and her husband were Palestinians from Jerusalem who immigrated to the United States nearly 40 years ago and have owned the store for 12 years.



'I'm happy. Of course I'm happy,' she told The Associated Press over the phone before ending the conversation because she was busy with customers Wednesday morning.

Nayel Ashkar's wife, Sara, told The Post-Standard of Syracuse on Tuesday that news of the winnings was spreading fast, with family and friends calling to express their surprise and excitement.

'It's crazy,' she said. 'Hard to believe. It's still sinking in.'

According to The Post-Standard, the big winner splurged on a $290,000 house in his hometown last year. His brother Nayel and his wife Sara spent $236,000 for their house in Cicero in 2008.

Lottery spokeswoman Carolyn Hapeman said the brothers claimed their prize at the agency's Schenectady headquarters on March 1.

Organized: Ashkar, whose brother is pictured here, waited so long to claim his prize because he was concerned the windfall could 'negatively influence' his life if he didn't plan properly before being publicly introduced as the winner

Big purchase: Andy Ashkar reportedly bought this house on Cobbler Way in Camillus for $290,000 in 2011

Unlike winning tickets for games such as Lotto and Mega Million that expire in a year, tickets for scratch-off games expire a year after a game is retired.

The Extravaganza game was retired on March 12, 2011, Hapeman said.



As is routine whenever a winner is related to the owner of the store that sold the ticket, the agency conducted an investigation.



The inquiry determined Ashkar's scratch-off ticket was bought legitimately, Hapeman said.



The Ashkar brothers, both employed as managers at separate central New York auto dealerships, will be introduced at a news conference at a later date, the lottery spokeswoman said.