Taipa Foodmarket in Northland sells $5.5m winning Lotto ticket on Wednesday

Shrushti and Nirav Patel had a celebration of their own after they sold a $5.5 million Lotto ticket at the Taipa Foodmarket.

When workers at Taipa Foodmarket learned they had sold a $5.5 million Lotto and Powerball winning ticket on Wednesday night they could hardly sleep.

So the workers, Nirav Patel and Srushti Patel, can only imagine how excited the winner - and they are hoping it's a local who has won the life-changing prize - will feel.

The ticket sold at Taipa Foodmart has become the third in just two weeks to win big with Powerball First Division. The $5.5m prize is made up of $5m from Powerball First Division and $500,000 from Lotto First Division.

Store owner Nimesh Shah was alerted by the staff and some customers on Wednesday night that the store had sold the big winner.

"The details were put on the New Zealand Herald website and people then started contacting me about it. It's very exciting for us to have sold the ticket,'' Shah said.

It's the first big Lotto winner sold at his store in the almost 10 years he has owned it and he and his staff hope the big winner is a local.

''We have some very loyal customers and people come from all around the area to buy their Lotto tickets here so we really hope it's one of them. All of the tourists we've had have gone home now so it would be wonderful for the area if the winner is a local.''

Shah said Nirav and Srushti were so excited they could hardly sleep on Wednesday night.

He said the win was the talk of the township yesterday with everybody who went into the store keen to talk about it.

''Everybody wants to know who won it and if it's a local and we all hope it's somebody that is from here.''

The win wasn't the only Lotto success for the Far North on Wednesday, with two Lotto Second Division winners sold, with one also winning Powerball Second Division.

A ticket sold at Four Square Coopers Beach won its holder $29,048, with Lotto and Powerball Second Division while one sold at Kaeo Four Square won $19,819 with Lotto Second Division.

The wins continue a hot Lotto winning streak in Northland. A winning $1m Lotto First Division ticket was sold at Onerahi Bookshop & Lotto for the April 20 draw.

And a Strike player won $500,000 just three days prior to the latest big winner. So far this year Northland players have scooped 10 First Division Lotto, Strike, Bullseye and Instant Kiwi wins and 16 Lotto and Powerball Second Division prizes.