An Auckland woman discovered she won $333,333 after leaving her winning Lotto ticket in a drawer for four months.
The woman's revelation comes amid calls for the winner of another unclaimed $1 million winning ticket to come forward.
The occasional Lotto player said she normally puts her tickets in a drawer to check later.
She bought the winning ticket at Four Square St Heliers for the June 27 draw but missed the news that the first division prize had been won in the Auckland seaside suburb. She also didn't hear about the unclaimed ticket when Lotto put out a public reminder in September.
The woman popped into a Lotto store on her way to the supermarket last week and had several tickets checked.
“The winning music played, and the operator very quietly handed me a slip of paper with the amount on it," she said.
“It was a bit of a surprise – a very pleasant one of course. I had to look twice to make sure I was reading it correctly.”
She didn't make it to the supermarket, taking the winning ticket home to show her "very surprised" husband.
“It feels surreal. You buy tickets with a bit of hope – but you don’t really think it’s going to happen to you,” she said.
The couple planned to buy a new car and would also like to help their family.
"Maybe have a little holiday," she said.
Meanwhile, Lotto is searching for a ticket holder who won a $1 million first division prize.
The ticket was bought at Pak N Save Clarence Street in Hamilton for the draw on Wednesday, October 7 2026.
“It’s only been three weeks, so there’s every chance our winner just hasn’t got around to checking their ticket yet – but this story shows how easily a ticket can be put aside and forgotten,” Lotto NZ’s head of corporate communications Will Hine said.
“We’re asking everyone in Hamilton and the wider Waikato to have a good look around for their tickets. What a fantastic prize to be heading into Christmas and summer with.”
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