Lotto Powerball: Porirua’s New World Whitby waits for $17.2m winner to claim prize

• A Porirua Lotto player won $17.2 million in the First Division Powerball draw.
• The winning ticket was sold at New World Whitby, where staff are now preparing for the winner to claim their prize.
• The prize is made up of a $17m Powerball win and $200,000 from a First Division split.

A Wellington supermarket manager is busy decking out her store with celebration posters and putting provisions in place before the country’s latest multi-millionaire walks into the shop to check their winning ticket.

A lucky Lotto player in the lower North Island is waking up $17.2 million richer this morning after winning last night’s First Division Powerball draw.

The winning ticket was sold at New World Whitby in Porirua.

New World Whitby’s owner-operator, Nicola Hallett, told the Herald the supermarket was notified by Lotto about the win last night.

Although the winning ticket had recently been bought there, Hallett didn’t know who the lucky person was.

The store was now preparing for the Powerball winner to come forward and claim their fortune.

While prizes can be claimed at any Lotto retailer, Hallett said a Lotto representative will visit New World Whitby this morning to decorate the store with posters, which will let shoppers know that the winning ticket was sold there.

Hallett said staff were looking forward to celebrating what would be a “generational, life-defining moment” for the winner.

Staff were putting provisions in place to make sure the Powerball winner could celebrate appropriately and privately if they choose to claim their ticket from the supermarket this morning.

The winning prize of $17.2m is made up of a $17m Powerball win and $200,000 from a five-way split of First Division.

Last night’s strike has made the winning player the ninth Powerball multi-millionaire in 2025 so far.

The $1m First Division prize was shared with four other players, who are each taking home $200,000.

The winning First Division tickets were sold at Hobsonville Superette in Auckland, New World Broadway in Palmerston North, Ballance Street Bookshop in Gisborne and on MyLotto to a player from Auckland.

Other Powerball wins in 2025

New Zealand has had major Powerball wins across the country this year.

In January, a Wellington Lotto player won $7m, with a Taranaki player pocketing $8.3m in the same month.

A Hamilton player and a Waihī player each picked up $10.5m from Powerball wins in February.

There were three lucky Powerball multi-millionaires in March, with wins in Christchurch, Dunedin and Port Chalmers.

What to do if you win

Ticket holders can see immediately if they have won if they bought a ticket through MyLotto. Prizes of $1000 or less are automatically credited to their account.

For prizes of more than $1000, winners have to fill in an online prize form.

Results are available immediately after the live draws on TVNZ 1 on Wednesday and Saturday nights.

They can also be found through the MyLotto app, online at www.mylotto.co.nz, at Lotto NZ retailers and on nzherald.co.nz.

Winners with a physical ticket must still visit a Lotto retailer to claim their prize.

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