A Kaikōura man has expressed his "utter disbelief" after finding he held the winning Powerball First Division ticket to Wednesday night's big $8.2 million Lotto draw.
The man bought his ticket at New World Kaikōura, only finding out he'd won after receiving a text from his partner on Thursday morning as he was heading to work.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous told Lotto New Zealand he is a regular player who buys dip tickets from the supermarket for each draw.
“I was just about to walk into work when I saw this text that said ‘did you win Lotto last night? Someone in Kaikōura did," he recounted.
The man said he immediately grabbed his wallet to get the ticket out and check it.
"I scanned it on the Lotto NZ App and it sure enough it said I had won,” he said.
READ MORE: One person wins $8.2 million Lotto Powerball jackpot
“I was in utter disbelief, it’s definitely not the sort of luck you expect!”
Still not quite believing it was true, the man opened up the official results and checked his ticket manually, circling off each winning number on his ticket one by one.
“Sure enough, they were all there, so I quickly scribbled my name on the back of the ticket, took a photo of it and stashed it back in my wallet.
“I texted my partner back telling her ‘yep… it was us!’”
The man took the rest of the day off work, picked up his partner and they decided to head into a store and claim their prize.
“One thing’s for sure, I definitely knew my wallet was there on that journey, it somehow felt a bit heavier,” he said.
The man told the Lotto operator that it was a winner before handing his ticket over.
“It’s probably the biggest winner you’ve put through the machine in a while,” he joked with the operator.
With the win claimed, the man and his partner decided to go for lunch and call some of their family to let them know the good news.
“We’re still in disbelief to be honest. We know life is going to change, but we are determined to keep our feet on the ground and put this money to good use,” said the man.
The couple are planning to invest for their family’s future, do some home renovations and hope to do some overseas travel in the near future.
The win is the 13th Powerball First Division winner of 2022.
SHARE ME