Hundreds spent on Lotto combos

As Lotto fever engulfs the Bay, groups of friends and colleagues are being warned to formalise their ticket buying syndicates with a written agreement.
Tonight's jackpot draw has reached $34million - up from $32million due to a ticket buying frenzy.
Powerball rules state that the money must go tonight - if first division is not struck, then the money is shared among second-division winners.
As the jackpot grows, Western Bay Lotto retailers report an increase in syndicates clubbing together to buy tickets to increase their chances of winning.
Te Puke Four Square, which last week sold a $1million winning ticket, has been "flat out" ahead of tonight's Powerball jackpot.
Owner-operator Ross McAinch said syndicates had been buying more expensive tickets together to increase their odds but spread the cost.
"The girls from the bank get their own tickets every week and are also buying a ticket as a syndicate. Some of the combos you get are more expensive but you cover more numbers so your odds are better.
"It's not uncommon this week to see people coming in and spending $200-$300."
Belinda Sands of Greerton Lotto said she was selling a lot of tickets to workplace syndicates because the multimillion-dollar jackpot still divided up into tidy sums.
NZ Lotteries spokeswoman Karen Jones confirmed the trend.
"Work teams pooling their money means they can then buy an increased number of entries in a draw, and thus increase their chances of winning a prize.
"With big jackpots such as this week's $34million, there is lots of money to be shared among syndicate members - therefore prompting the increased interest."
But with the popularity of syndicates comes a warning - NZ Lotteries recommend players formalise the agreement to make sure there is no question of who is in the group, how much everyone pays, or how winnings are collected and shared.
"It saves any confusion about how the money is divided up if there is a win - for example, if someone has not paid their share of the entry fee that week ... are they still entitled to a share of any winnings?" Ms Jones told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend.
She cited the example of a Wanganui workplace syndicate that won the Winning Wheel. The syndicate rule meant that anyone who contributed money to a jar on a particular week was in for that weekend's draw.
"Everyone understood that rule, however a few people in that workplace then missed out when they did win a prize," she said.
In one case, a work syndicate won a big prize two weeks after two members left the syndicate.
They kept the win quiet so as to avoid creating bad feelings in the workplace, Ms Jones said.
NZ Lotteries can only pay out one winner - so it's essential syndicates sort out how their funds get distributed to members.
"However, the vast majority of syndicate wins are fantastic for their members and we have several syndicate claims every year."
In August, a Thames Hospital syndicate of nine colleagues won $1million.
Formalising a syndicate in writing can also help avoid gift tax if you should win.
Tickets bought by commercial syndicates, in which a person obtains financial gain for operating the syndicate, are void and ineligible for prizes.
That was not an issue in New Zealand, Ms Jones said, but was designed to prevent commercial organisations taking a fee for buying New Zealand lottery tickets.
"This does occur in other countries where there are mega-jackpots on offer."
NZ Lotteries chief executive Todd McLeay said a must-be-won draw attracted people who did not usually buy a Lotto ticket.
The last such draw, in October 2008, sold 2.3 million tickets, and similar sales were expected this week.
Meanwhile, NZ Lotteries has crunched the numbers to find New Zealand's luckiest selling Powerball stores and they are both in Auckland.
Countdown Lynfield and Manukau City Lotto share the record of selling three Powerball first-division winning tickets.
For South Island players, Hokitika New World has been a lucky store, selling the first, and the biggest, Powerball prize in that region.
And some Powerball numbers appear to be luckier than others - while Powerball number 1 has been drawn the most overall, it is Powerball number 3 that is the most drawn for first division wins.