SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A Syracuse man bought a life-changing New York Lottery scratch-off ticket because he liked the colors.

Christopher Kimbrough, 40, said the neon colors on the $3,000,000 Mayhem scratch-off ticket caught his eye. Kimbrough purchased the winning $10 ticket May 7 at the MAA Petroleum Gulf gas station on Court Street in Syracuse.

New York Lottery's Yolanda Vega presented him with a ceremonial $3,000,000 prize check Wednesday morning.

Kimbrough chose to receive his prize as a one-time lump sum payment of $1,598,884 after withholdings.

Kimbrough said he stopped at the gas station after work and the bright colors of the $3,000,000 Mayhem ticket caught his attention, so he purchased two tickets.

Kimbrough said he won $20 on the first ticket.

"I figured I won my money back, then I got to this one," Kimbrough said referring to the jackpot-winning ticket. "And I said whatever I win on this one will just be a bonus."

Kimbrough realized that the prize said "jackpot," but he didn't believe he won at first so he called his mother, Roberta Cirtwell, to come over.

"I said, 'mom you need to look at this ticket,'" he said. Cirtwell looked at the ticket twice to confirm that it said jackpot, Kimbrough said.

"It shocked us both," he said.

Kimbrough's mother and family cheered for him as he received his ceremonial check from Vega.

Kimbrough said he hasn't made any final decisions on how to spend his winnings but he said he plans to take a vacation.

The $3,000,000 Mayhem card offers players a chance to win up to $3 million. As of Monday there are still three top-prize winning tickets unclaimed and six $10,000 second-prize winning tickets available.

The chance of winning the jackpot is 1 in 3,893,400, according to the lottery.