Wellington couple claim $8.5 million Lotto Powerball win

A Wellington couple have won $8.5 million with Lotto's Powerball at the weekend.

The couple were having a quiet night at home when the man, who wanted to remain anonymous, thought he might as well check his ticket.

He logged into MyLotto and watched as the numbers started circling off - initially he thought he had won $8500.

"I immediately told my wife the good news and she raced over to have a look at the ticket. That's when she peered at the screen and said, 'hold on – it's a bit more than that!'.

"We just stared at each other wide-eyed before breaking into a huge hug. It was an unbelievable moment," the man said.

The pair spent the rest of the evening celebrating and imagining what they would do with their winnings.

They had a couple of drinks to celebrate and admittedly to calm their nerves.

"We sat up all night talking, until we finally headed to bed around 3am. To be honest we only got about an hours' sleep between us that night, our minds were absolutely buzzing – the whole thing felt so incredibly surreal. It still does, to be honest," the man said.

The couple said they looked forward to setting themselves up for the future and helping their immediate family with the money.

It's the second Powerball win of they year. It comes a fortnight after an Auckland man won $21 million.