10 May 2018

While most winners can’t wait to claim their prize, Gisborne’s latest Lotto winners left their ticket unchecked for almost two weeks – despite knowing their local store had sold a $500,000 prize.

The lucky couple, who wish to remain anonymous, had a good feeling about their ticket from the moment they bought it.

“I just had a good feeling when I stepped into the store, so when I got to the front of the queue I said to the operator, ‘I’ll have the winning Lotto ticket, thanks’,” laughed the winner.

But it wasn’t until the following day, when they read in the newspaper that the store had sold a First Division winning Lotto ticket, that the winner realised just how lucky that little yellow piece of paper might be.

“When my husband and I heard Pak N Save Gisborne had sold the winning ticket, we put the ticket out of sight – we just couldn’t bear to check it,” said the winner.

“We spent the next week and a half imagining what we would do if really were the lucky winners, we talked about it every day.

“After a week and a bit of waiting, my husband finally bit the bullet and said ‘we need to check it’ – so we dug it out and started checking.

“As I read him the winning numbers, my husband checked the ticket then beamed at me with the biggest smile on his face and said ‘It’s us. We won it!’”

The couple jumped straight in the car and drove to their local Lotto shop to claim their prize.

“The owner took us out the back and checked the ticket for us. When he smiled at us and confirmed that we really had won, the two of us started jumping up and down, and I burst into tears.

“It was an unbelievable moment – it still is, really,” the winner said.

Now the winners are looking forward to deciding what to do with their newfound fortune.

“As much as we dreamt about what we’d do before we checked the ticket, it’s a bit different now that we’ve really won. All we know for now is that we want to make sure the kids are looked after – we’ll wait and see about the rest.”

The winning ticket was sold at Pak N Save Gisborne in Gisborne for the Lotto draw on Wednesday 25 April.

ENDS

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