$9.4 Mil Powerball, $518,373 1st Div Unclaimed

Media Release 15 November 2005

For Immediate Release

$9.4 Million Auckland Lotto Powerball & $518,373 Rotorua First Division Lotto Prizes Still To Be Claimed

The $9.4 million Lotto Powerball prize, won on Saturday night by a single ticket sold in Manukau City, Auckland, is still to be claimed, says NZ Lotteries Chief Executive Trevor Hall.

The owner of the ticket will collect a total prize of $9,357,086, $8,838,713 from winning Powerball First Division and $518,373 from also winning Lotto First Division. The ticket was bought from Manukau City Lotto and is the seventh biggest Powerball win ever by a single ticket.

A Lotto First Division winning ticket, which won $518,373, sold at Pak N Save in Rotorua for Saturday’s draw, is also still to be claimed.

“It’s time for all of our players in the Manukau and Rotorua areas to open up their wallets and purses, get those tickets out and get them checked at their nearest Lotto retailer.”

Mr Hall says it is not unusual for big winners to take some time to come forward and claim their prize.

“If they find they have won the big Powerball prize they should immediately write their name on the back of the ticket, keep it in a safe place and contact our Wellington office.

“We’d encourage the Powerball winner to come to Wellington to claim the ticket so that we can give them advice about how best to handle a win of this size. Other big winners have told us they’ve found our advice very helpful, especially during the first few weeks after the win when they’re coming to terms with their windfall.”

Mr Hall says tickets holders have 12 months from the date of the draw their ticket was entered into to claim their prize, but big winners usually come forward much earlier than that.

The Auckland win is the third big Powerball jackpot won this year. In September, an Aucklander won $15 million and in June a Hawkes Bay family scored $12 million.

ENDS

© Scoop Media