Power outage at TVNZ forces $5m Powerball Lotto draw offline
A power outage at TVNZ forced the live television Lotto draw to be canned this evening.
Lotto presenter Sonia Gray initially told viewers the draw would be pushed back until 8.25pm, but it was later revealed that the live television draw would not go ahead tonight.
Gray said the draw would be conducted off-air and the results would be drawn “under Audit Office scrutiny”.
A life-changing $5 million was up for grabs in the Lotto Powerball draw, and another $1m was on the line in Lotto First Division.
Tonight’s highly anticipated numbers were 7, 8, 13, 32, 33, and 37. The Bonus ball was 22, and the Powerball was 5.
The official results went live on the website after 9pm. Powerball went unstruck and rolled over to next Wednesday’s draw. The jackpot will be $7 million.
Players from Mount Maunganui, Kāpiti Coast and Otago each won $333,333 with Lotto First Division.
The winning tickets were sold at Bayfair Lotto in Mount Maunganui and on MyLotto to players from Kāpiti Coast and Central Otago.
Meanwhile, a lucky Strike player will also be celebrating after winning $200,000 with Strike Four.
The winning Strike ticket was sold on MyLotto to a player from Wellington.
Lotto NZ head of corporate communications Will Hine apologised to Lotto players for the delays tonight.
“Fortunately, we have established and secure processes that allow us to run the draw off-air using a Random Number Generator under the scrutiny of the Audit Office, in circumstances like this.
“This was done during the pandemic and also in 2019 when a fire at the SkyCity Convention Centre disrupted filming,” Hine said.
This draw comes after a lucky player from Tauranga won $200,000 with Strike Four on Wednesday night.
The winning ticket was sold at Cherrywood Lotto & Book Shop in Tauranga.
Nine other players also each won $20,650 with Lotto Second Division.
Ashburton family wins $28.6m
Tonight’s prize pool comes just days after an Ashburton family claimed an astonishing $28.6 million with Powerball First Division.
The winning ticket was sold at Four Square Netherby in Ashburton.
They are regular Lotto players and have used the same numbers for years across five lines on a $7.50 Powerball Pick Your Own ticket.
Their ticket landed them the Powerball jackpot, as well as three Lotto First Division prizes worth $200,000 each.
The winning family, who do not want to be identified, claimed the 11th-largest win in Lotto NZ history.
“It was such a mix of emotions all at once – my husband cried, and none of us knew what to do with ourselves," the winner said.
What to do if you win
Ticket holders can immediately see if they have won if they bought a ticket through the MyLotto app. Prizes of $1000 or less are automatically credited to the winner’s account.
For prizes exceeding $1000, winners must complete an online prize claim form.
Winners with physical tickets must still visit a Lotto retailer to claim their prize.
For the Powerball jackpot to be claimed, a ticket holder must get all six Lotto numbers correct as well as the Powerball number.
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