A Whakatāne man was walking around "like a stunned mullet" after he and his wife discovered they'd won the $8.3 million Lotto jackpot.
The couple, who asked to remain anonymous, had no idea they were millionaires until a few days after the Lotto draw.
The man said: “I bought a Triple Dip on Saturday morning but forgot about it until Monday afternoon when I was driving home and heard on the radio that someone from Whakatāne had won the big one.”
Upon hearing this, the man's heart started "thumping", and he thought: "Hang on, that could be me!"
He raced home and checked his MyLotto app and realised straightaway "all my numbers matched".
"I thought, ‘No way!’"
He described walking around like a "stunned mullet" after discovering he'd won and waited for his wife to get home so he could share the news.
“We sat down, and I told her someone from Whakatāne had won $8.3 million. I made her check the ticket on the app, and when she realised we had all six numbers and the Powerball number, she was gobsmacked.”
The pair celebrated their big win over a few drinks before sharing the news with their kids.
"We called them up, and they were rapt – everyone was so happy for us,” the man said.
The next day, the two claimed their prize in-store.
“After the retail operators checked our ticket and confirmed we’d won, we started crying and jumping up and down,” the man said.
“We still can’t believe it,” the man said. “We feel incredibly lucky.”
They plan to invest a big part of their winnings while continuing to work, "not only for our children but also our moko".
"We want to create something valuable for the future generations.”
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