The man who won a massive $12 million jackpot in Lotto's Saturday night Powerball draw says he nearly didn't buy the winning ticket that he bought to celebrate his birthday while holidaying in Wanaka.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, bought the ticket on a whim while visiting the supermarket for dinner supplies.
"We just wanted a quiet night in to celebrate my birthday with our friends, so went to New World to pick up something special for dinner – lamb and a salad," the winner told NZ Herald.
"As we headed out to the car we saw the queue at the Lotto counter and decided to pick up a ticket. It was quite busy though, so there was a bit of a wait – we nearly left the line, actually."
The winner's wife was the reason they stuck it out to buy a ticket.
"He was getting a bit impatient and wanted to head back to the house, but I wouldn't let him," she said. "After all, what's another couple of minutes?"
Heading back to Auckland yesterday the couple had time to think about their plans for the money.
"We haven't even told the kids yet, so that's the next big thing to do – it'll be a pretty memorable moment, that's for sure!
"As for what we'll do, we definitely want to help people – this win will go a lot further than our immediate family.
"We both love travelling and sports, so might treat the family to trip to Japan for the Rugby World Cup next year – or even the Olympics," the winner said.
This Powerball win is the seventh time it has been struck so far this year.
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