Lotto Powerball: $17.2 million winner waited two weeks to claim prize

A woman who won $17.2 million on Lotto waited an anxious two weeks before claiming her mega prize.

When she eventually decided to claim her millions she endured a "nervous bus ride" to collect the life-changing sum.

Lotto NZ revealed this morning that the lucky Auckland woman took the bus to its head office in Newmarket to cash in her winning ticket and pocket the $17.2 million prize drawn on December 29.

The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: "I was sitting on the bus saying to myself 'keep it cool, keep it cool' but I was looking around me thinking 'I'm sitting here with a $17 million ticket!'"

She now plans to spend her money helping out family members and investing for her future.

"I haven't been sleeping since I found out about my win, I woke up this morning at 4am! I'm looking forward to getting a good rest and am so excited for the future - this win is truly going to be life-changing."

A regular Lotto player, she was at home by herself on the night of the draw and checked her numbers using the MyLotto app.

"As I checked each number and one by one saw they matched the ones on my ticket… well, it was truly a surreal experience," she said.

"I was at home by myself and I was so excited, but I also started crying - I felt so overwhelmed."

She first tried to phone her brother to share the news but struggled with a bad line, so rang her mother.

"When Mum picked up the phone I burst out 'Mum I've won $17 million!', and my Mum said, 'that is a lot of money!' and then immediately started giving me advice on how to invest it – she knows a lot about finance and had some good ideas."

She had bought the winning ticket from Victoria Street Lotto and Newsagency.

After the prize draw, instead of claiming her large sum over the phone or instore during the Christmas period she decided to wait until Lotto NZ's head office reopened in the new year.

"I was very nervous waiting to hand the ticket over!" she said.