Northland granny still working despite winning $8.3m in Powerball

A Northland grandmother and her children are still working despite winning $8.3 million in Lotto Powerball.

The anonymous winner said the biggest change to her life is the peace of mind and financial security for the couple's children and grandchildren.

"That in itself is a pretty incredible feeling," she said.

"We've kept our lives as normal as possible since the win – we're still working and so are our kids. The biggest thing that has changed is the peace of mind we have," she said.

The $8.3m winning ticket she bought on MyLotto was drawn on April 4. The prize was made up of $333,333 from Lotto First Division and $8m from Powerball First Division.

Sitting on the couch, the woman logged into her MyLotto account and her "winning ticket" popped up straight away and she yelled out to her husband to come and have a look.

The most they had won prior to the big prize was about $25.

Christmas Day this year, she said, was no different as she spent the day with her family.

"We have a big family gathering planned at one of our kids' houses where we'll serve up a mixture of the traditional Christmas fare with some good old Kiwi classics.

"The only difference this year, is that we will be upgrading to the fancy champagne!"

The couple have made anonymous donations to the school in their area, saying it was important they gave back to their community and that schools in general were
appreciative of a bit of extra support.

The winner earlier spoke about helping her children, grandchildren and taking a family holiday.

Her win was the second largest Powerball prize won in Northland and the first time a player from the region has won big with Powerball online through MyLotto.