“We were about to go to sleep, but I suddenly had this feeling that I just had to check it,” the man said.
The winning ticket was bought on MyLotto. Photo / Lotto
He checked the MyLotto app and, when he saw the numbers, he got “straight up in bed and shouted ‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’
“It felt we were in a dream – like maybe we had actually fallen asleep and none of it was real. We just kept saying to each other ... ‘Are we going to wake up now?’”
A planned mass upgrade to Lotto New Zealand’s systems kicks in from Monday, September 29.
“This once-in-a-generation project will enable future innovations and improved customer experiences,” Lotto NZ head of corporate communications Will Hine said before last week’s draw.
“To support a smooth transition, we’re ‘clearing the decks’ to reduce system load ahead of the upgrade.”
A large jackpot puts increased data demand and increased strain on Lotto NZ’s systems and staff at a critical time in their project, Hine said.
Saturday night’s draw proceeded as normal.
2025 Powerball wins
January 8: $7m, MyLotto, Wellington
January 22: $8.3m, MyLotto, Taranaki
February 8: $10.5m, Glenview Centre Lotto & Post, Hamilton
February 26: $10.5m, Paper Plus Waihī & Toyworld, Waihī
March 15: $5.5m, New World St Martins, Christchurch
