Half a dozen Lotto players are waking up richer this morning, with one lucky ticketholder winning $700,000 in last night’s draw.
That prize, the biggest of the night, went to a player from Auckland who won Strike Four.
They bought their winning ticket from Woolworths Lynn Mall in New Lynn, Lotto said.
Another five players won First Division, splitting the $1 million cash prize and pocketing $200,000 each.
Those winning tickets were sold at Auckland’s Sing Lee Supermarket, Paper Plus Rotorua Central, Christchurch’s Pak’nSave Riccarton and to players from Tauranga and Lower Hutt through the MyLotto app.
Last night’s $5m Powerball jackpot went unstruck, meaning it will increase to $6m ahead of its next draw on Wednesday.
Last night’s numbers were 10, 2, 12, 28, 6, 30, the bonus 22, and Powerball 8.
The latest draw comes a week after three players claimed their share of a record-breaking $55m prize.
One of the winners who took home $18.3m was a Christchurch man who made a snap decision to buy a ticket for the first time in 10 years.
“We were doing the usual grocery shop and as we were walking in, I saw the queue to buy tickets – that’s when I remembered the big draw. It’s been so long since I bought a ticket that I had to ask the operator which ticket I needed,” he said.
“All I could think about was the ticket at home and how maybe it wasn’t a good idea to leave it there,” he laughed.
“Let’s just say we didn’t stay out for long.
“This win opens up a whole new world of opportunities for me and my family.
“It means my parents can finally retire – they have worked so hard to give us a good life – and that’s going to feel very special.
“It means I can give my children every opportunity to be the best they can be, with some of that everyday financial stress lifted.”
Lotto confirmed the other two winning tickets were sold at New World Kawerau in the Bay of Plenty and through the MyLotto app to an Auckland punter.
As one of only two Lotto retailers in town, New World Kawerau’s owner-operator Clare Gallagher told the Herald they celebrated by hanging decorations and handing out cake to customers and team members.
“[The] $18m is a huge win, and we’re absolutely stoked to have sold such a lucky Lotto ticket,” Gallagher said.
“Everyone is talking about it, and the atmosphere in store is unlike anything else.”
Of Aotearoa’s 12 previous “must-be-won” draws, the top prize has been shared at a lower division seven times.
Before the record-breaking draw, Victoria University of Wellington’s Richard Arnold said there was about a 30% chance the full $55m would be won by one person, depending on the total number of players.
He told Herald NOW’s Ryan Bridge if two million players buy 10 lines each, there’s about a 30% chance of a single winner in Division One.
He said if there are four million players, that probably goes up to about 36%.
The winners of the last $50m jackpot told Lotto NZ the key was not to be changed by the sudden wealth.
They advised last week’s winners to “make sure you’re confident in the team you build around you – you have to trust they are giving you good advice”.
Ticket holders can see immediately if they have won if they purchased a ticket through MyLotto. Prizes of $1000 or less are automatically credited to the account.
For prizes exceeding $1000, winners must complete an online prize claim form.
Winners with a physical ticket must still visit a Lotto retailer to claim their prize.
For the Powerball jackpot to be claimed, a ticket holder must get all six Lotto numbers correct as well as the added Powerball number.
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