Lotto win beats back to work blues

Keep hold of those tickets - you never know when you might find yourself a winner. File photo / NZ Herald

An Auckland man left a Lotto Triple Dip ticket worth $500,000 on his office desk for a month while he went on a summer holiday, before finally checking it and realising he was a big winner.

The man won the massive windfall in Lotto's Holiday 200 promotional New Year's Eve draw.

"I had a long holiday break this year so it was a bit of struggle to get back into work,'' said the man who wanted to remain anonymous.

"On my first day back, I decided to pop out to the dairy to get an energy drink to keep me going, and thought I would check my old ticket at the same time.

"Although I buy Lotto tickets, I never really expected to win big and I suppose I consider it my donation back to the community.

"After the dairy owner checked my ticket, he said I had won a large prize and showed me a receipt that I thought said $5000. On taking another look, I realised it actually said $500,000 and I was just blown away.

"I can't believe that I went away on holiday and left the ticket on my desk without a second thought!''

The man plans to share his good fortune with family members and charitable causes.

The Lotto Christmas promotion saw 200 extra prizes, worth more than $5 million, up for grabs for players who purchased a Triple Dip Lotto ticket. The man bought his winning ticket at Ramlax Dairy in Auckland.

A number of prizes still haven't been claimed, so all Lotto Triple Dip Holiday 200 voucher holders are encouraged to check their tickets to see if they're sitting on a winner.