A local Blenheim woman was ‘blown away’ after checking her ticket and discovering she had won a life-changing $9 million.

The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, is a regular player and bought her ticket from Redwood Lotto.

“We do play regularly and usually buy a Triple Dip, but never in my wildest dreams did I think we’d ever win. You just don’t think it’s going to be you,” said the woman. “We get excited when we win $20 – at least it pays for the next ticket!”

After the draw, the woman’s husband mentioned that Powerball had been won but he wasn’t sure where.

“I remember thinking, ‘oh that’s amazing for the winner – and just before Christmas too,’” she said.

The next day the woman went to do the grocery shop and decided to check her ticket on the way out.

“The machine made a noise and they told me I had won $9 million. I was completely gob smacked,” she laughed.

“It was so surreal,” she said. “I just kept thinking how I was going to tell my husband we were millionaires.”

Later that day the woman shared the news with her husband and immediate family and had dinner and drinks to celebrate their amazing windfall.

“We had a lovely dinner and drinks with family, it was really special to share our news with them,” said the woman.

Over the next few days the couple tried to come to terms with their life-changing win.

“We still can’t believe it’s real – even after seeing our new bank balance!”

“We would hear people in the community talking about the prize, wondering who the winner might be and what they might be spending it on – my stomach did flips every time I heard someone talking and I thought – ‘they’re talking about me and they don’t even know it,’” laughed the woman.

The couple are planning to do some house renovations, enjoy Christmas with family and have a long relaxing summer in the Marlborough Sounds while they think about what to do next.

“We’d love to go overseas when we can, but for now, we’ll enjoy our own country while we make some future plans.”

The winning ticket was sold at Redwood Lotto for the draw on Wednesday 25 November 2020.

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