Retired Northland couple on their $500k Lotto First Division win

A Northland couple took home $500,000 in Lotto First Division on March 8.

A Northland couple were on the edge of their seat as they watched the winning Lotto numbers line up on their ticket.

The retirees, who wish to remain anonymous, have shared the moment they became $500,000 richer in last Wednesday’s draw.

“We’re still in shock,” the woman said. “We always hoped, but never expected to win.”

The pair - regular Lotto players - had bought a ticket on MyLotto earlier in the day before watching the draw later that evening.

The surprise came when the woman jumped online shortly afterwards to see if luck had been on their side.

“I was sitting on the edge of my chair watching each of my numbers line up,” she said.

“I became quieter and quieter, but when all six lined up I shouted, ‘I’ve got six numbers, I’ve got six numbers!’”

The woman said her family laughed at her and asked if she was all right.

“I’ve replayed the video a few times, watching all my numbers circle one by one - it’s a lot of fun.”

The couple had thanked their lucky stars, she said.

“We looked up the statistics of winning and we couldn’t believe it - it just reinforced how amazing this win is.”

It was a “fabulous” moment the couple celebrated with a bottle of bubbles that same evening.

They plan to use the money for travel and to help their family.

The couple were among two winners to take home $500,000 in the Lotto First Division draw - the other being a MyLotto player from Christchurch.

Northland is no stranger to Lotto winnings. In July last year, a punter had no idea the Lotto ticket he had carried around with him for a week was the key to $1 million.

The most recent was on Saturday when a Whangārei player was among seven people to win $41,972 in Lotto Second Division.

The ticket was bought at Pak’nSave in Whangārei.