Lotto Powerball: Dunedin pair $5.5m richer after win, Otago’s lucky streak continues

A couple from Dunedin are New Zealand's latest Lotto multi-millionaires after they won $5.5 million in a Powerball draw.

A Dunedin couple say they didn’t realise for a week that they were holding a Lotto Powerball ticket worth $5.5 million.

The couple are the second big prizewinners from Otago this week after a Port Chalmers resident won the $5.3m draw on Saturday – though they are yet to claim it.

The Dunedin winners – who have chosen not to be named – said they had heard that a local resident had scored the massive prize but presumed it wasn’t them, believing they had bought the winning ticket elsewhere.

“I said to my partner, ‘ahh someone’s won, but it’s not us because we didn’t get our ticket from there this week’, – for some reason I was sure I’d bought it from a different shop,” the Dunedin woman said.

She eventually checked her ticket while shopping for groceries. When it said she was a Division One Winner, the woman handed her ticket over to the operator.

“I asked how much I’d won – she just looked at me and said, ‘it’s a big one', and turned the ticket to show me the amount,” the woman explained.

“I was really shocked – I couldn’t believe it!”

The woman immediately went home to find her partner and break the news.

“He gave me a hug and asked how my day was like he normally does, and I said ‘well … we won some money on Lotto’, and showed him the little slip of paper with the amount on it," she said.

“He didn’t believe it, and for the last few days we’ve spent a lot of time saying, ‘is it really real?’ ... It feels like we’ve been kind of floating around in a bubble of unreality.”

Since landing the win, the couple decided they’re very keen to help their family, but haven’t thought about anything beyond that.

“A lovely holiday somewhere warm will be on the cards at some point though,” the woman said.

$5.3m yet to be claimed

While the couple spent the weekend coming to terms with their win and figuring out what’s next, Lotto NZ head of corporate communications Will Hine said the winner of $5.3 million from Port Chalmers still needs to claim their prize.

“What a week it’s been for Otago. Two winners in the region are both now more than $5m richer, which is fantastic,” Hine said.

“If you bought your ticket from Windsor On the Spot Express in Port Chalmers for the Saturday, March 22 draw, we recommend checking your ticket as soon as possible.”

What to do if you win

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 of more than $1000, winners have to fill in an online prize form.

Results are available immediately after the live draws on TVNZ 1, which take place on Wednesday and Saturday nights.

They can also be found through the MyLotto app, online at www.mylotto.co.nz, at Lotto NZ retailers and on nzherald.co.nz.

Winners with a physical ticket must still visit a Lotto retailer to claim their prize.

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