Seventeen 1st Division winners in 2018 - Northland's lucky Lotto streak

Seventeen Northlanders have won Lotto First Division so far this year, including three in the past two weeks.

Northland Lotto players are on a winning streak with three Lotto First Division prizes won in the past two weeks and 17 sold in the region this year.

Two Lotto players - from Whangarei and Kerikeri - scooped $200,000 each with Lotto First Division last Saturday, following on from October when a Whangarei man took home a $250,000 Lotto First Division prize.

The lucky Northland trio includes a Whangarei woman who won her $200,000 Lotto First Division prize on her dip ticket bought at Onerahi Bookshop & Lotto.

The woman usually plays her own numbers, but when she realised she had left her Lotto wallet with her lucky numbers at home she decided to try her luck with a dip instead.

"I never forget my numbers, but for some reason I did this time. Even though I've been playing the same lucky numbers for years, I couldn't recall what they were at the time – they absolutely disappeared from my mind! So I just crossed my fingers and asked for a dip instead," the woman, who does not want to be named, said.

She had no idea just how lucky that decision was until she watched the live Lotto draw that night.

"I jotted down the first few numbers then glanced down at my ticket, and there they were on the very first line – I could hardly believe it. By the time the sixth ball was being drawn I couldn't bear to look at the TV, I was so nervous and excited. When the presenter called out '36' as the last number and I saw it on my ticket I was in total shock. It was just unbelievable," she said.

But she's not the only Northland player celebrating a big win, with a Kerikeri man also winning $200,000 in the same draw.

After unwittingly carrying the lucky yellow ticket bought from Countdown Kerikeri around in his pocket the whole of Sunday, the winner stopped by the supermarket to pick up dinner and check his ticket.

"When 'major prize winner' appeared on the screen and the winning music played, I just couldn't believe it! I asked the person at the Lotto counter to check the ticket twice just to make sure," he said.

"They were so excited for me that we had a little celebration right there in the store."

The man left the supermarket with much more than just dinner and raced home to share the good news with his wife.

"We were so excited and overwhelmed that we couldn't even bring ourselves eat the roast chicken I went to buy in the first place. I'm still smiling today – I can't wipe the smile off my face."

The wins closely follow a Whangarei man winning $250,000 with Lotto First Division in the on October 24, with a ticket sold at New World Regent.

So far this year, 17 Northland Lotto players have taken home Lotto First Division prizes – including three players who have become overnight millionaires with with the largest win an $8.3 million Powerball win on April 4.