By ROSALEEN MacBRAYNE
Late on Wednesday afternoon the Lotto corner of Meikle's furnishing and appliance store in Kawerau was briefly free of customers.
It was the chance the holder of the $14.7 million Powerball jackpot had been waiting for.
The local person produced the life-changing scrap of yellow paper to claim the biggest-ever individual prize in New Zealand lottery history.
But the identity of the winner - a hot topic in the Eastern Bay of Plenty conversation for four days - remains a closely guarded secret.
Sharon Ruck, who sold the winning ticket, was behind the counter when it was handed over without comment.
She slipped it into the machine and up flashed the magic number.
"There were no bells, alarms or whistles. It went through like any other ticket," Mrs Ruck said yesterday. "I am amazed at how calm I was. People may be watching, so you do everything nice and steady."
Choosing her words carefully because the winners expressly requested anonymity, Mrs Ruck said: "It is the most amazing feeling, making people happy. I have the best job in the world."
Anxious not to draw attention, Mrs Ruck telephoned store manager Treena Coffin and asked if she could come and cover "for a minute".
Of the winners, all she would say was: "They are nice - not young or old. Just ordinary people."
Mrs Ruck put paid to the stronger rumours: "They ain't from the Mongrel Mob and none of their family has any association with them. And they didn't rush off to Wellington."
Shortly before the claim, she told the Herald she "quite frankly" did not care who the winner was.
"I'm just thrilled to bits it was sold here. Good luck to them."
Mrs Coffin said yesterday that a slight shakiness in Mrs Ruck's voice alerted her when she asked to be relieved at the Lotto counter.
"We were as discreet as we could be," she said. "I wanted to jump up and hug them, but I couldn't.
"They are lovely people and it is just wonderful."
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