The New York Lottery’s Yolanda Vega awarded a Gansevoort woman her $5,000,000 Lottery prize check today at the Xtra Mart on Saratoga Road in Fort Edward. Forty-nine-year-old Rita Dixon purchased her jackpot winning $5 Million Fortune with the money she won on a previous ticket.

“I was speechless when I saw the amount,” explained Dixon. “I scratched the ticket right there on the counter and had to take my sunglasses off to make sure I was reading it right.”

“I won on another ticket and stopped at Xtra Mart to buy a Poweraid,” she continued. “I was feeling lucky so I bought this one with the winnings.”

Dixon’s matching 43s won her the $5,000,000 top prize which is paid out as a one-time lump sum. She will receive a net check totaling $3,309,000 after required withholdings.

“This is just so unbelievable,” said the soon-to-be retired accountant. “It still doesn’t feel real.”

Dixon said her plans for the life-changing money are simple. “Of course I will pay off my debt and invest a good portion of it. The one thing I plan on buying for myself is a Mercedes. I’ve always wanted a Mercedes.”

Dixon is 67^th New York Lottery player to win a prize totaling $1,000,000 or more this year.

The New York Lottery contributed $35,741,783 in Lottery Aid to Education to school districts in Saratoga County during fiscal year 2016-2017.

About the New York Lottery

The New York Lottery continues to be North America’s largest and most profitable Lottery, contributing $3.27 billion in fiscal year 2016-2017 to help support education in New York State. The Lottery’s contribution represents approximately 14 percent of total state education aid to local school districts.

New York Lottery revenue is distributed to local school districts by the same statutory formula used to distribute other state aid to education. It takes into account both a school district’s size and its income level; larger, lower-income school districts receive proportionately larger shares of Lottery school funding.