Phil Meredith usually fills his car up on payday that was until he discovered he could maximise his chances of winning $2000 of free Gull gas by filling up in smaller, more strategic blocks.
"When I saw that you could enter with a receipt for anything over $5 I
began filling up 10 bucks at a time," which resulted in numerous trips to the High Street, Masterton, station, he said.
Mr Meredith had never won anything significant before taking away the Gull vouchers yesterday and is over the moon with the windfall.
"It's the first major prize I've won. It feels good, I'm very pleased. Now I can afford to pay for your education!" he said, joking with his twin 4-year-old girls Rowan and Paige, who were on-hand to witness their father's good fortune.
Mr Meredith said he was planning on heading north for a family holiday with the vouchers.
"My parents live up north so that's the right way to head."
It's not only his parents who will reap the benefits of the petrol prize though.
"My 17-year-old stepdaughter is very excited she might be able to fill up her car for the first time ever."
Mr Meredith commutes to Wellington to work and the vouchers give him a good Plan B should he snooze through his alarm clock one morning.
"If I do actually miss the train one day I can now afford to take the car instead of waiting for the 10.30 train."
Mr Meredith is running three cars and said "on principal" he is going to use Gull's new Force 10 bioethanol blend in the vehicles.
