Lotto winners shocked after big night

Best friends Margaret and Edith won $1 million last night. Photo / Supplied

Two Auckland friends who have been buying Lotto tickets together for more than a decade have come away with $1 million this week.

Best friends Margaret and Edith, whose last names were not released, took out the top prize after spinning the Lotto Winning Wheel on Saturday night.

It is the first time the hefty haul has been won since 2012.

The pair have been buying Lotto tickets together, using the same numbers, for 11 years.

Margaret said she couldn't make out the $1 million segment because the wheel was spinning around so fast.

"When it stopped on the $1 million, I looked at Edith in shock," she said.

"It feels unreal and it's going to take awhile to sink in."

Meanwhile, the big $24 million jackpot was reportedly claimed at the Springfield Superette a short time ago.

A single ticket purchased from Springfield Superette snared last night's $24.3m jackpot, made up of $23,800,822 from Powerball first division and $500,000 from first division.

Superette owner Raj Kumar was stunned to hear he had sold the $24m winning ticket.

"This is a big buzz. We've sold tickets for big amounts before - we've sold $1m before - but to have sold $24m is amazing," he said.

Raj Kumar at Springfield Superette sold the $23 million Powerball ticket in Rotorua. Photo / Daily Post

"I always dreamed about selling something this big. That'll be a blast for whoever wins it. This is a tough year and I think anybody could do with money."

He said he imagined it would be the talk of the town today, and he was "stoked" his store would be at the centre of it.

Rotorua Deputy Mayor Dave Donaldson was stunned by the win and said the lucky recipient would find it hard to keep the news quiet.

"$24 million? Is that right? Well, it certainly isn't me," he said.

"I guess it would all depend on how they spent it, but crumbs, if they started spending that kind of money in Rotorua, it would be pretty hard to hide who it was.

"Having said that, if they were to spend the money here, it would be a fantastic boost for the local economy."