An Otago family has claimed the second Powerball jackpot of 2026 – describing their $5.3 million win as "absolutely unreal".
The prize was made up of $5 million from Powerball First Divison and $333,333 from Lotto First Division.
One of the family members said she bought a $6 ticket twice a week – using a mixture of birthday numbers and randomly chosen numbers.
"We’ve played the same ticket [numbers] for years," she said.
She found out about the win the night of the draw on Wednesday, January 21.
“My husband was out, and I just happened to check our ticket going to bed.”
She said after the draw played, it said she had a winning ticket, and she took a screenshot and closed the app.
“I guess I didn’t really register what was happening, I kept staring at the screenshot and the large number at the top, not quite believing what I was seeing.”
When she tried to log back in, MyLotto had closed for the night.
She then waited for her husband to come home and then showed him the screenshot.
“He didn’t believe me at all, he said 'nah, that can’t be real... I’m off for a shower', and off he went.”
When the woman opened MyLotto in the morning, she was able to confirm the win.
“As soon as MyLotto opened, we logged in to check… and then we checked again, and again, and again,” she laughed.
“It felt absolutely unreal. It’s a life-changing moment.”
The couple then wanted to share the news with their children, and invited them over for dinner.
“We sat them down and said, ‘we have some news to share with you'.
“My plan was to replay the draw on my phone so they could see the ticket, but before I could, my husband blurted out 'we’ve won $5.3 million'."
One of their children said back: "I knew it.”
The woman said tears and hugs followed, as the family celebrated over dinner.
“As much as we celebrated and talked about what it meant for us, it still didn’t really feel real – I don’t suppose it will for a while.”
The woman said the next step was to put the majority of the money into a term deposit while they considered what they would like to do.
“But we will set aside a small amount for a little splurge,” she added.
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