An Auckland man waited until his family were gathered at the table for a Mother's Day lunch to tell them some life-changing news - they'd won $10.5m in Lotto Powerball.
The man said after his wife forgot, he purchased a ticket online on Saturday afternoon, but didn't check it that night.
"I didn’t pay any attention to the Lotto results that evening as I was too busy watching the rugby – Blues versus Crusaders."
He realised something was up the following morning when he received emails from Lotto.
"One said I’d won a major prize, which seemed odd. I thought maybe I’d won the Mother’s Day promo prize," he said.
"I quickly logged onto MyLotto to check my ticket and couldn’t believe it when I saw all my numbers line up! I was speechless – I never expected to win Powerball."
He didn't tell his wife immediately, waiting until lunchtime to share the news.
"At first, they couldn’t believe it," the man said.
"They thought it was a joke. But after I showed them my ticket and replayed the draw on my phone, and they could see it happen, they realised it was real.
"My wife was very happy. She wondered how I managed to keep it so quiet, but I’m good at keeping a secret."
The couple plan to help their family, as well as give some of their winnings to charity.
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