Northland celebrates $18m lottery jackpot

Kaeo: population 500, average income $12,500. File picture / Richard Robinson

The tiny Northland town of Kaeo had 18 million reasons to celebrate last night after a ticket bought from the local Four Square supermarket claimed a record Powerball jackpot.

The prize had not been claimed by lunchtime today.

The massive cash bonanza - made up of $17.9 million from Powerball and a first division win of $290,613 - was the biggest ever in New Zealand, with the winner beating the one-in-30-million odds.

It eclipsed the previous record for an individual ticket - $15.2 million won in Auckland last September.

Hitendra Patel, who owns the Four Square along with his brother Vipin Chand, said he hoped the ticket had gone to somebody in the town.

"We are on State Highway 10 which goes near the coast from the Bay of Islands to Kaitaia so we do get some passing traffic," he said. "But we are hoping that whoever won it is a local.

"We'd like to know who it is. I don't know if the winner will want to make that public but it will be hard for them to keep it secret."

Mr Patel, a Fijian Indian who has lived in New Zealand for 22 years and has owned the store with his brother since 2001, had been wanting to sell lotto tickets for three years but was only given a licence six months ago.

NZ Lotteries spokesman Warren Salisbury said the win would be a life-changing experience for the winner.

His advice for the lucky ticket-holder was to write their name and address on the ticket, confirming their ownership, and then contact New Zealand Lotteries with their claim.

As news came through, the 500 residents of Kaeo - about 25km north of Kerikeri - were last night scrambling around, frantically checking their tickets. Excitement was at fever pitch at the Kaeo Tavern, where locals had gathered to watch the Super 14 semi-final.

Patron Marie Yovich said the news would be especially satisfying for the Patel family, who owned the Four Square where the ticket had been bought. Last week they had been robbed of $12,000.

She said the win was "hugely exciting" for the town - and the hope was the prize would be claimed by a local. "There's only about 500 people living here, everyone knows everyone's secrets - so it's going to be hard keeping this quiet," she said.

Tokorua Leaf said the win would provide a huge boost for a close-knit town that had struggled to keep pace economically in recent years. "Everyone here is happy and excited about the news. I didn't win - but I hope one of my relations did," she said.

Kaeo Rugby Club bar manager Alan Martin said: "This will brighten the mood of the town."

And Simon Robson, bar manager of the Whangaroa Big Game Fishing Club, said: "I hope it's one of our members - and they shout the bar."

- additional reporting NZPA