What are your chances of actually winning the big one? Video / NZ Herald
A text message from her daughter was the first hint of a big win for a Tauranga grandmother who won $1 million with Lotto First Division at the weekend.
The winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, had no idea that her ticket was the luckiest ticket in town until herdaughter sent her a text saying a local had just won big.
"I'd picked up a Triple Dip from Bayfair Shopping Centre on Thursday and stashed it away thinking nothing of it," the woman said.
"I didn't think about my ticket again until Sunday when my daughter messaged me saying she hoped I had bought a Lotto ticket from Bayfair because someone won Lotto from there.
"I replied straight away saying 'don't make me nervous – that's exactly where I bought it from'."
With news of Tauranga's latest big win fresh in her mind, the woman dug out her ticket and scanned it through the Lotto NZ App.
"When major prize appeared on screen, I was just so shocked. I truly couldn't believe what I was seeing. So I pulled up the winning numbers and checked them off on my ticket, just to be sure. It was a surreal feeling seeing all six numbers lined up on a single line of my ticket." the winner said.
Sharing the exciting news with her husband, the winner tucked her lucky yellow Lotto ticket back in her wallet until she could pop to her local Lotto store the next day to confirm the win.
After claiming her prize and officially becoming Tauranga's newest millionaire, the woman went out for dinner to celebrate with her family.
"My husband and I have decided to keep the news of our win pretty close to home and are just telling the kids. But it's quite funny – even so, we really wanted to invite everyone over for a drink and celebrate," she said.
With the winnings now safely in the woman's bank account, she is looking forward to helping family and setting herself up for the future.
"We'll definitely be helping the kids with our winnings – we can't wait to treat them a bit. And I'll get myself something special as well, after all, it's not every day you win Lotto."
The winning ticket was sold at Bayfair Lotto in Mount Maunganui for the Lotto draw on Saturday, May 29.
