Waking up every day in the picturesque town of Kaikōura, surrounded by the Southern Alps, would leave a smile on anyone’s face. Imagine then, just how big the smile was on one Kaikōura local’s face was when he realised he was New Zealand’s newest multi-millionaire.

The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, is a regular player who buys dip tickets from his local supermarket each draw.

On Thursday morning he headed to work as normal and just as he got there, he got a text from his partner.

“I was just about to walk into work when I saw this text that said ‘did you win Lotto last night? Someone in Kaikōura did!’

“So I immediately grabbed my wallet to get my ticket out and check it. I scanned it on the Lotto NZ App and it sure enough it said I had won,” he said.

“I was in utter disbelief, it’s definitely not the sort of luck you expect!”

Still not quite believing it was true, the man opened up the official results and checked his ticket manually, circling off each winning number on his ticket one by one.

“Sure enough, they were all there, so I quickly scribbled my name on the back of the ticket, took a photo of it and stashed it back in my wallet.

“I texted my partner back telling her ‘yep… it was us!’”

The man took the rest of the day off work, picked up his partner and they decided to head into a store and claim their prize.

“One thing’s for sure, I definitely knew my wallet was there on that journey, it somehow felt a bit heavier,” he laughed.

The man told the Lotto operator that it was a winner before handing his ticket over.

“It’s probably the biggest winner you’ve put through the machine in a while,” he joked with the operator.

With the win claimed, the man and his partner decided to go for lunch and call some of their family to let them know the good news.

“We’re still in disbelief to be honest. We know life is going to change, but we are determined to keep our feet on the ground and put this money to good use,” said the man.

The couple are planning to invest for their family’s future, do some home renovations and hope to do some overseas travel in the near future.

Notes for editors:

• The winning $8.2 million Powerball First Division ticket was sold at New World Kaikōura in Kaikōura for the draw on Wednesday 17 August.
• The winner would like to remain anonymous and does not wish to provide any further comment at this stage.
• This is the thirteenth Powerball First Division winner of 2022.
• The $8.2 million Powerball prize is made up of $8 million from Powerball First Division and $200,000 from Lotto First Division.

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