Pāpāmoa Couple Claim $500k Prize Four Months On

A couple of hours after Lotto NZ issued a media release about an unclaimed $500,000 First Division prize sold in Pāpāmoa, a local woman sat down with a cuppa to catch up on the day’s news.

“Reading the news article about the unclaimed prize prompted me to check old tickets I’d saved in a drawer, and that’s when I noticed one I hadn’t checked…and it was from the New Years Day draw.

“If I hadn’t read the article, it would still be unclaimed because I didn’t know I had an unchecked ticket,” she said.

The couple, who wish to remain anonymous, usually check their tickets manually, then save a few up and verify them in-store, but on this occasion the ticket had been missed for more than three months.

“I still didn’t want to believe I was holding on to the winning ticket, so I didn’t get my hopes up,” she laughed.

Grabbing her laptop and pulling up the results from Wednesday 1 January’s draw, it was instantly clear to the woman that she had matched six numbers.

“I saw number 8, and then it was like all of the other numbers just lit up – it was so obvious.

“That’s when I scrolled down and saw the amount, it was amazing.

“My husband was out and I didn’t want to tell him over the phone, so I mowed the lawn to keep busy ‘til he got home!”

When the man returned, his wife said she had something to show him and held up the ticket.

“I looked online at the results – the numbers all matched so I scrolled down to see the amount - $500,000 – I just thought ‘wow!’” he said.

“It was a struggle to sleep – we kept thinking ‘what happens if we lose the ticket, or someone breaks in and steals it.’

“So we popped it inside a book for safekeeping until we could claim it.”

With their prize safely claimed, the couple went out for lunch to celebrate their win.

“We never in a million years thought we would win a big prize like this, and we are so grateful.

“We also want to thank the wonderful staff at Fresh Choice Pāpāmoa – they are always so lovely in the store,” said the woman.

“It was fantastic to hear from our missing winners so soon after issuing our story,” said Lotto NZ’s Head of Corporate Communications, Will Hine.

“We always like to unite our winners with their prize as soon as possible, and are thankful to the media for getting the word out so quickly,” he said.

“We’re still on the hunt for another winner who bought a ticket at Coastlands Lotto in Paraparaumu but has not yet claimed their $200,000 prize following a draw in August.”

Notes: 

• In Wednesday 1 January’s Lotto draw, two lucky players shared the $1 million First Division jackpot, each taking home $500,000. The winning tickets were sold at Mirrabooka Superette in Auckland, and Fresh Choice Pāpāmoa in Pāpāmoa – both prizes are now claimed.
• Winners have 12 months from draw day to claim their prize.

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