It was a weekend to remember for a young Auckland family who initially thought they had won $25,000 – only to be left in disbelief when they realised they had in fact scooped $25.1 million.

Lotto NZ’s largest ever jackpot was shared by two winners on Saturday night, who each took home $25.1 million.

The winner said the large jackpot prompted them to buy a ticket for the draw.

“We play every now and then, usually when the jackpot is high. When I saw it was $50 million and had to be won, I knew we had to grab a ticket,” said the winner.

On Sunday morning the winner saw they had received an email from Lotto NZ saying they had won a prize but didn’t think much of it. The winners had family staying for the weekend and at that time they had no idea that an Auckland MyLotto player had won $25.1 million.

“I was checking my emails in the lounge on Sunday morning and saw I had one from MyLotto Customer Support saying I’d won a prize. I logged on to the app on the iPad to check my ticket.

“I watched as the numbers were circled on my ticket one by one. Then some quite large numbers popped up across the top. I must have shouted pretty loud when I saw them as my Dad came running in,” laughed the winner.

“I heard a loud shriek – and went through to see what was going on,” said the winner’s Dad.

“I got to the lounge – and just heard ‘Dad, I think I’ve won $25,000.’ When I peered at the ticket, I saw there few more numbers than that,” he laughed.

The winner then told her mum the news. “I thought something terrible had happened, as there were lots of tears. I just kept saying ‘what’s wrong, what’s wrong?’ said the winner’s Mum.

Through the tears, the winner finally managed to say - “I’m a millionaire!”

The family celebrated the win that night with pizzas.

“It’s still hard to believe – things like this don’t happen to people like us,” said the winner.

“The main thing for us is setting up this money so many generations benefit – our children, their children and so on. It can do so much for our family’s future,” said the winner.

“I was brought up with good morals and values and it’s important to us that our children are raised the same way. Although this money is an amazing opportunity and can change our lives massively, I still want our children to understand the value of a dollar.”

With the winnings now safely in their bank account, the family are looking forward to what’s next.

“We want to pay off the mortgage and a few other bits and pieces, but we’ve not really thought further than that!

“There’ll be some nice little treats along the way I’m sure,” said the winner.

The winning ticket was sold on MyLotto for Lotto NZ’s $50 million Must Be Won draw on Saturday 29 February 2020.

Background

This is the sixth time Powerball has reached a Must Be Won draw with a jackpot of over $30 million in the history of the game.

• In 2008, five players split the jackpot and took home $6.1 million each.
• In 2011, two players split the jackpot and took home $17.4 million each.
• In 2013, one player from Auckland took home $33 million.
• In July 2016, three players split the jackpot and took home $13.3 million each.
• In November 2016 one player from Auckland took home $44 million.
• In February 2020 two players split the jackpot taking home $25.1 million each.

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