The Florida Lottery today announced that Tammy Azevedo, 41, of North Fort Myers, claimed the $7 million Florida Lotto jackpot from the drawing held on March 26.

Azevedo chose the one-time, lump-sum payment for her winnings in the amount of $4,064,431.00. The winning Lotto ticket was purchased at Circle K, located at 19101 U.S. 41 North in North Fort Myers. The retailer received a bonus incentive of $25,000 for selling the jackpot-winning ticket.

Azevedo could not believe that she had won the jackpot. She was speechless when she called her husband, who immediately thought this might be some sort of April fool’s joke. She has played the same numbers, a combination of family birthdays, for years and was excited to see her numbers bring home a big win. She hopes to use her winnings to pay some bills and help some of her family who have helped her so much throughout the years, she told lottery officials.

Total ticket sales for this jackpot generated more than $5.4 million for the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund (EETF). The next Florida Lotto drawing was to be held Wednesday night with a $5 million jackpot.

Florida voters, by a two-to-one margin, approved a constitutional amendment in 1986 authorizing the state to operate a lottery for the purpose of generating significant additional moneys for education. Floridians continue to show their support by purchasing nearly $4 billion in Lottery products per year, resulting in contributions of more than $22 billion to the EETF since 1988.