A man from Kaitāia is celebrating his “crazy” win of $18,611.
His win — one of sixteen nationwide to come away with nearly $20,000 from Lotto second division drawn on Saturday, April 15 — was outdone by only three players who also won Powerball for total wins of $25,196, one of them from Whangārei.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he plays Lotto “now and then”.
He had bought his ticket on MyLotto and didn’t check it until nearly a week after the draw on Friday, April 21.
“I was in bed on my phone when I decided to check my ticket,” the man said.
“I started to see all my numbers line up and thought, ‘wow, what’s happening!’
“I couldn’t help but keep checking it to make sure it was real!”
Overwhelmed, the man woke his sleeping partner to share the news.
He has yet to celebrate, but said he plans to save his winnings and ultimately “buy a new home for my whānau”.
“I’m so excited for the future. I’m going to remember this day forever.”
According to a Lotto NZ spokesperson, just 1.6 per cent of Lotto Family — which includes Lotto, Powerball and Strike — first-division winners purchased their tickets from Far North stores last year, making the win a rare occurrence.
However, the Far North has had a range of winners in Lotto history.
A $5.5 million winning Powerball first-division ticket was sold by Taipa Foodmarket in May 2019, and the Far North was also home to the largest-ever prize won in Northland.
The massive $17.9 million Powerball first-division prize was won in May 2006 from a ticket sold by Kaeo Four Square.
In October, Kaeo Four Square also sold a winning $500,000 Lotto first-division ticket.
One hundred per cent of Lotto NZ’s profits support thousands of causes annually, including Coastguard Houhora, which last year received a new rescue vessel.
Houhora Rescue was one of 26 high-spec craft first used as chase boats at last year’s America’s Cup, with vessels also received by Northland units in Bay of Islands and North Kaipara.
Through a unique partnership between Lotto NZ, Coastguard and Emirates Team New Zealand — and a $9.8 million lottery grant made possible by the millions of Kiwis who play Lotto NZ games each year — the boats were reskinned and refitted for Coastguard units across the country.
In the year since November 2021, the new boats had responded to 170 incidents, assisted 417 people, rescued 12 people and even saved the life of one person.
The NZ Lottery Grants Board is looked after by the Department of Internal Affairs.
A list of Northland-based Coastguard units that received a new vessel through the Lotto NZ partnership:
- Coastguard Houhora – November 2022
- Coastguard Tutukaka – June 2022
- Coastguard Whangaruru – December 2021
- Coastguard North Kaipara – November 2021
- Coastguard Bay of Islands – October 2021
To learn more about available funding and how to apply for a lottery grant, visit: communitymatters.govt.nz/lottery-grants-board/, call 0800 824 824 or email community.matters@dia.govt.nz.