Outsider claims $6.8m Ohakune ticket

Ohakune's $6.8 million Lotto prize has been claimed.

And the winner is... sorry, from out of town.

The winning ticket was sold at Take Note Ohakune and drawn on Saturday January 23. Take Note Ohakune's manager, Raylene Deadman, earlier told the Wanganui Chronicle that rumours had been circulating around the town as to who the winner might be.

Lotto New Zealand confirmed the winner had come forward yesterday after suddenly realising the ticket had been sitting in his wallet for eight days.

The man and his wife live in the Manawatu region and do not want to be identified.

Lotto spokeswoman Emilia Mazur said the man had heard about the unclaimed prize, but hadn't given it a second thought until coming across his ticket.

"He quickly saw that he had six winning Lotto numbers on one line, and the all-important Powerball number," Ms Mazur said.

The couple are still deciding what to do with the winnings.

"They were quite shell-shocked when they realised just how much they'd won. They are slowly coming to terms with the fact that they are now millionaires - a few times over - and are enjoying some exciting conversations about all the things they can do with their winnings."

It's the biggest Lotto prize ever claimed in Ohakune. The previous biggest was $1 million, from the Winning Wheel.