A Canton lottery club claimed a $25,000 a year for life Lucky For Life prize hours before it was set to expire today.

The Hissom Lottery Club, matched the five white balls drawn – 15-18-25-31-35 – in the Jan. 1, 2018 drawing to win a $25,000 a year for life prize. They purchased the winning ticket at the Picnic Basket, located at 49471 Ann Arbor Road in Plymouth.

“I buy tickets every week for Lucky For Life and after I check them, I tuck them away if they aren’t winners,” said 84-year-old Robert Hissom. “I saw a story on the news about a ticket sold at the Picnic Basket about to expire, so I went back to check my old tickets and found the winner.

“Our family has been playing the Lottery for 33 years, and my late wife set up a lottery club for all of us years ago in case we ever won big. I feel like she had a hand in all of us winning this prize. It was just perfect! My son, who lives out of state, was even home to collect his winnings with us!”

Hissom visited Lottery headquarters along with his son and daughter Wednesday to claim the big prize. The club chose to receive their winnings as a one-time payment of $390,000, rather than annual payments of $25,000 for 20 years or life, whichever is greater.

The club members are still deciding how they’d like to spend their windfall.

“It’s gratifying to win after so many years. Being able to share this with my son and daughter is such a wonderful feeling,” Hissom said.

For just $2 per play, Lucky For Life gives Lottery players a chance to win prizes ranging from $3 to a lifetime of cash. To win the game’s top prize of $1,000 a day for life, players must match all five winning numbers ranging from 1 to 48, plus one Lucky Ball ranging from 1 to 18. Players who match all five winning numbers, but not the Lucky Ball, will win $25,000 a year for life. Lucky For Life drawings take place every Monday and Thursday at 10:35 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at Lottery retailers across the state.