Lotto says it's rare, but not unknown, to have two First Division-winning tickets sold at the same store for the same draw.
''While it's relatively unusual for one Lotto outlet to sell two First Division-winning tickets in the same draw, it does happen a couple of times a year. Most recently, Motueka New World in the South Island sold two Lotto First Division-winning tickets for the February 10 draw,'' a Lotto spokeswoman said.
It was possible the two Patel's winning tickets were sold to the same person - often people played several lines of their own numbers with a different Powerball number on each line.
''At this stage we don't know whether the prizes were won by the same player or two different players. So there could be one or more very happy people in Whangarei when they check their ticket,'' she said.
''From our records, more than $9.1m in prizes have been won by Northland Lotto players since August 20, including a Powerball First Division prize of $5.5m collected by a lucky player in Whangarei last month.
''With 28 major prizes won in under four months, Northland Lotto players seem to be on a bit of a winning streak at the moment. As a Whangarei Powerball player found out last month, a big win really can happen at any time - all you need is a Lotto ticket.''
