Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services

Hay River (Nov 14/05) - Dorothy McNeely is still in shock after winning $50,000 in the lottery. But that's not all.

Dorothy McNeely holds a photocopy of her winning Western 6/49 ticket. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

She'd won the game's second highest prize by matching five numbers and the bonus. But her ticket had more winnings: an additional $10 on a second line for matching three numbers.

"I was at a loss for words and really I still am," she said.

McNeely has played the lottery twice a week for between 10 to 15 years. She's won small amounts before, $10 or $50, but on Oct. 8 her luck changed.

The 65-year-old retiree bought her winning Western 6/49 Quick Pick ticket at The Rooster on Oct. 7. She usually calls her daughter on Saturday evening to check the numbers online, but that week she forgot.

On Thanksgiving Day, McNeely was doing a jigsaw puzzle when she remembered and phoned. When she checked the numbers her grandson read out, she couldn't believe it.

"I thought he could have misread one or I could have wrote one down wrong," she said.

To be sure McNeely phoned a friend who told her they were all right.

So far McNeely has used the money to pay her bills. As soon as she gets her Christmas decorations up she plans to go to Edmonton to spend two weeks with a friend and do some shopping.

"It's something I've wanted to do for a long time," she said.

With one big win under her belt, McNeely wonders what it would take to get an even bigger prize.

"I'll keep playing," she said.