Surviving a "mini-tsunami" when a water tank exploded at his Taupo Bay camping ground convinced Joe Rogers it was time to buy a Lotto ticket.
When he got the ticket from his car's glovebox to check the numbers after he returned to Mangonui Stationery on Monday to get a newspaper, he was told a ticket sold there had won a $500,000 half share of the Lotto first division prize drawn on Saturday.
"When they said I'd won, I thought 'that's pretty good'. It wasn't until they ushered me out the back and asked if I wanted to ring my wife that I realised 'this is for real'," he said.
Joe, 66, saved the good news until he got home. He reckons the big win is still sinking in for Greta, his wife of 45 years.
"She's still growling at me over stuff. How can you please a woman?" he asked yesterday, delighted to be able to tease her from such a strong position.
Joe, a builder by trade, is originally from Hamilton, where he and Greta married and had three daughters before leaving in 1978 to spend 17 years in Australia, then returning to Whangaparaoa and buying the Taupo Bay Holiday Park in 2002.
The couple have spent the past nine years modernising the 1.4ha camping ground, which now has four cabins, a bunkroom, 40 powered sites and 60 tent sites.
Joe said the park needed a cash injection to get it "really tip-top" - and the win would do just that.
"There's enough to cover the mortgage and a little bit over for some campground improvements. It will be money well spent," he said.
What about him and his wife having a holiday overseas?
"Greta can get on a jet if she wants to but I'd rather go fishing," Joe said.
"We went to Fiji last year. It was nice but if we have another break, I'd prefer to do more - I'd rather chase hapuku."
Joe was watching the Black Caps chasing runs on television recently when he was told a crack in the camping ground's plastic water tank had started to get worse. When he went to take a look, the crack expanded while he was watching, splitting the tank apart.
"The tank exploded and a mini-tsunami wall of water smashed me up against the garage."
Battered but undaunted, within four hours, Joe and neighbour Malcolm Hobbs had a line supplying creek water to the toilets and a new water tank ordered from Auckland was in place the next day.
"When we got through all that, I told Greta it was time to buy a Lotto ticket," Joe said.
Still teasing, he said her wedding ring had broken last week.
"She said it could be a sign we would separate but I told her it was just a sign the wedding band had worn through and we couldn't afford another one. I wonder if she still wants to leave me this week?"