Lotto: $4.5m win might finally allow Coromandel couple to retire

A Coromandel couple might finally be able to retire after winning $4.5 million in Lotto Powerball.

The anonymous couple regularly buy a triple dip ticket, but decided to buy a ticket from a Thames store earlier this month after being told how lucky it was.

“I was in the shop in Thames when I noticed they had about six first division trophies on the shelf,” the man said.

“I asked the woman if they were genuine, and she said they were, and that they had sold a few first division tickets over the years.

“So I said, ‘Well you’d better give me a ticket then!’.”

The man had his ticket checked at a different store a few days later, but didn’t think his prize would amount to much.

“I scanned it and ‘major prize’ came up.

“I didn’t know there had been a big win in Thames – so I thought it might be a grand or two.”

He handed the ticket over to the Lotto operator who told him she had never seen as big a prize in the store before.

“I was in total shock.

“It took me a while to figure out how many zeroes there were.

“It’s mind-blowing, and it really is life-changing for us,” the man said.

The man was the sole winner of the June 6 Powerball jackpot.

He drove home to tell his wife about the win and said they struggled to sleep that night.

“I’m usually a pretty good sleeper but I must have woken up every 15 minutes that night.

“I kept picking up the paperwork and telling myself I can feel it in my hands, so it has to be real,” he said.

After taking home their winnings, the winner said he and his partner’s future now looks very different.

“There’s been a bit of a running joke about when I’ll retire, and honestly, I didn’t think it would ever happen - but this win means I can.

“It’s huge for us.”