SCHENECTADY – The first millionaire in New York this year, thanks to the New York Lottery, is Catherine Sakal of Tivoli. She hit the $5 million jackpot in the CashX10 scratch-off game. She was presented with a ceremonial check on Wednesday from Yolanda Vega, the Lottery’s top personality.
Sakal will take home $3.3 million in a lump-sum check after taxes.
Sakal, an accountant, was on the way to the gym when she decided to stop and buy her tickets. She bought the ticket at Rhinebeck Food and Gas on Route 9G in Rhinebeck.
After she scratched off the winning numbers, “I decided to skip the gym and head straight home to show my husband, William,” she said on Wednesday, when she was introduced to the public at the Lottery’s Schenectady headquarters. “I was freaking out all the way home.”
Sakal had to convince her husband the ticket was for real and after he looked it over a few times, the realization hit him.
“William and I are very down to earth people so this money won’t change us,” she said. “It will offer a little bit of cushion for the future and of course we’ll take care of our family.” She said she, “might trade in my Kia for another car model – maybe a Honda CRV.”
