Hastings woman claims $2.5m Lotto prize

Countdown Hastings sold the winning $2.5m Powerball ticket. Photo / File

A Hastings woman has today claimed her $2.5 million Lotto winnings.

Lotto NZ confirmed a Hastings local claimed the whopping Powerball prize today at Lotto Headquarters in Auckland.

Two winning powerball tickets were also sold for the September 19 draw, one at Countdown Hastings, and another in Christchurch. Both winners have now claimed their $2,525,000 prizes.

The September 19 draw also saw five first division-winning tickets sold in Flaxmere, with those winners taking home $25,000.

The winner was astonished when she discovered he had the winning numbers on her bright yellow piece of paper.

"I was watching the live draw on TV. My first reaction was disbelief – it just didn't seem real in that moment.

I had to tell someone, so I called a close friend and he could scarcely believe it either. But after he doubled checked the numbers for me we knew it was true. It was a moment I'll never forget."

The woman said she's been playing the same numbers every week and when she saw them appear in the live draw, she knew she was in luck.

"It was surreal seeing them read out one by one and I was just getting so excited as they went on. I couldn't believe what was happening."

The winner said she wasn't nervous about picking up her winnings, in fact, she couldn't be more over the moon.

"It wasn't until I was in the taxi on the way to the Lotto office that it finally sank in! It was a real thrill to walk into the winners' room."

"I'm thinking about maybe buying a house and a car. I also want to share it with my family so we can all enjoy it together – that's going to be the best part."