Leaving things to the last minute isn't always a bad idea, just ask Lil Tulloch.
Mrs Tulloch won the G J Gardner Wendy house raffle, taking home a custom-built playhouse built by G J Gardner Rotorua.
Mrs Tulloch said she had wanted to buy a raffle ticket for a fewweeks to enter the draw, but her timing was always off.
Each day she would drive home from work on Te Ngae Rd passing the G J Gardner office, but on each occasion she would pass by too late and the store would be shut.
"On the last day before the raffle closed I drove past at 5pm and they were still open. So I bought the last two tickets."
The organisers said the raffle tickets were mixed up in a bucket before being drawn on air during the Classic Hits Rotorua Breakfast Show, on December 14.
"I was at work actually, just doing normal stuff. I had heard earlier in the morning that it was being drawn and thought 'fat chance of me winning'," Mrs Tulloch said.
Surprisingly, she received a phone call from radio presenter Paul Hickey and realised instantly what was happening. "I just went silent," she said with a laugh.
Mrs Tulloch said she had a "blended" family with 12 grandchildren so the playhouse was getting a pretty good workout at her home in Owhata.
G J Gardner Rotorua franchise owner Graham Fuller said they had raised $4700 for the Rotorua-based BayTrust Rescue Helicopter, as a result of the raffle.
Mr Fuller said the BayTrust Rescue Helicopter did a great job around Rotorua and deserved the support.
