One Bay of Plenty couple are over the moon after winning $8.3 million in Powerball last Saturday.
The winning ticket had been purchased from the Halfway Store in Kopeopeo, Whakatāne.
The couple spoke to Lotto just days after discovering they were the newest multi-millions in New Zealand.
The pair told Lotto they had found out the winning ticket had been sold at their local store a few days after the draw.
“I bought a Triple Dip on Saturday morning but forgot about it until Monday afternoon when I was driving home and heard on the radio that someone from Whakatāne had won the big one,” the man said.
“My heart was thumping, and I thought, ‘Hang on, that could be me!’”
The man raced home and checked his ticket on the MyLotto App.
“I looked at my numbers, and straight away, all my numbers matched. I thought, ‘No way!’
“After walking around dazed like a stunned mullet, I waited for my wife to get home to share the good news," He said.
“We sat down, and I told her someone from Whakatāne had won $8.3 million. I made her check the ticket on the app, and when she realised we had all six numbers and the Powerball number, she was gobsmacked.”
The couple celebrated their massive win with a few drinks, later sharing their news with their children. “We called them up, and they were rapt – everyone was so happy for us,” the man said.
After a night of restless sleep, the couple claimed their prize the next day in-store.
“After the retail operators checked our ticket and confirmed we’d won, we started crying and jumping up and down,” the man said.
“We still can’t believe it,” the man said. “We feel incredibly lucky.”
“We plan to keep working and invest a big part of the prize – not only for our children but also our moko. We want to create something valuable for the future generations.”
Public Interest Journalism funded through New Zealand On Air.