The festive season seems to be a lucky time for Lotto players. Photo / File
Lotto players often have good luck during the festive season.
One lucky Porirua resident won $15 million last night's Lotto Powerball.
But the owner of Eastside Four Square and Lotto in Porirua East, north of wellington, said the holder of the winning ticket is yet to come in.
"There have been a few people who thought they might be the winner, but they're not," Dipak Dubariya said.
"But they are all happy one of the locals has won.
Early in January this year, a man from Pukekohe won $10.7 million with Powerball First Division. The winner received the winning ticket as a thank-you gift from one of his best friends and was modest with his wish-list after winning big, the first thing he did was buy new jandals.
In December 2013, a woman from Taupo unwrapped a Christmas present from a relative that turned out to be a Lotto ticket, it turned out to be a winning First Division Lotto ticket worth $1 million.
The winner paid off the mortgage of her gift-giving relative.
A player from New Plymouth won $1 million with Lotto's Christmas Promotion in 2013, but had no idea that she had become a millionaire until she found the ticket in her wallet two months later.
When she found out that she was a big winner she emptied her wallet and used her cash to buy 50 $1 Instant Kiwi tickets and placed them on windscreens with a note wishing each person a happy day.
• 16 December 2015 - $15.2 million - Powerball - Porirua
• 3 January 2015 - $10.7 million - Powerball - Pukekohe
• 2 January 2013 - $15.4 million - Big Wednesday - Hastings
• 31 December 2011 - $5.5 million - Powerball - Orewa
• 25 December 2010 - $12.9 million - Powerball - North Shore
• 23 December 2009 - $2.6 million - Big Wednesday - Mt Albert
• 27 December 2008 - $5.2 million - Powerball - Waipukurau
• 5 January 2008 - $13.3 million - Powerball - Tauranga
• 2 January 2008 - $2.3 million - Big Wednesday - Dunedin
• 26 December 2007 - $4.5 million - Big Wednesday - Feilding
• 31 December 2005 - $8.6 million - Powerball - Tauranga
• 25 December 2004 - $9.9 million - Powerball - Wellington
• 31 December 2003 - $2.2 million - Powerball - Auckland
• 27 December 2003 - $17.1 million - Powerball - Shared by 11 winners (Must Be Won draw)
• 4 January 2003 - $4.1 million - Powerball - Manukau
Number of First Division winning tickets sold for Lotto Family (Lotto, Powerball and Strike) and Big Wednesday
Store - Location - First Division winners
• Unichem Stortford Lodge Pharmacy - Hastings - 39
• Pak N Save Riccarton - Christchurch - 30
• Richmond Night N Day - Nelson - 29
• Coastlands Lotto - Tauranga - 28
• Berrymans (formerly Browns Bay Toy World) - Auckland - 24
• Hornby Mall Lotto - Christchurch - 24
• Pak N Save Dunedin - Dunedin - 24
This year alone, around $311 million in Lotto, Powerball and Strike prizes have been won by over 9 million players, including 36 New Zealanders who became instant millionaires thanks to Lotto.
These lucky winners join more than 730 Kiwis who have joined the exclusive club of Lotto millionaires since 1987.
So far this year 12 lucky Powerball players from around the country have had their lives changed overnight after winning Powerball First Division. This makes 2015 the luckiest year in New Zealand history for Lotto players - and the year's not over yet!
Date won - Prize - Location - Winners
• 3 January - $10.7 million - Pukekohe - A retired truck driver was given the winning Lotto ticket as a thank you present.
• 10 January - $5 million - Nelson - A Dolly Parton loving couple used their winnings to take the trip of a lifetime to Dollywood in America.
• 31 January - $6.5 million - Hokitika - A family syndicate from Hokitika were looking forward to setting up the whole family for life with their winnings.
• 7 February - $4.3 million - Whanganu - iA fancy car and big screen TV were top of the shopping list for this overnight millionaire from Whanganui.
• 14 February - $4.5 million - Tauranga - A retired couple celebrated their multi-million dollar win with a cold beer.
• 28 March - $9.1 million - Auckland - A North Shore couple were looking forward to treating others to random acts of kindness with some of their winnings.
• 27 June - $24.3 million - Rotorua - A local family had no idea they were holding a winning ticket until they checked their ticket in-store.
• 8 August - $9.3 million - Auckland - A Hamilton man found out he'd become a millionaire several times over while picking up a pie at his local dairy.
• 12 September - $8.1 million - Hastings - A Hastings man had a birthday to remember after winning Powerball on a ticket he received as a birthday gift.
• 19 September - $5 million - Tauranga - A weekend away in Tauranga left this lucky couple $5 million better off after winning with a ticket they bought while on holiday.
• 31 October - $13 million - Auckland - An Auckland couple had a sleepless night after winning big on a ticket bought online at MyLotto.
• 16 December - $15.2 million - Porirua - Winner yet to claim prize.