Young Taranaki woman comes forward to claim $22.3m prize

Friday, 4 January 2019

A Lotto ticket sold in Taranaki has won $22.3 million dollars in a January, 2018, Powerball draw.

A young woman from Inglewood has just become the latest member of New Zealand's multi-millionaires club, after claiming a $22.3 million prize.

On Friday, it was revealed the woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, was watching a movie when she found out she won the multi-million dollar Powerball prize after Wednesday night's Lotto draw.

The lucky ticket was purchased at the Inglewood Book Centre, owned by Loraine and David Reeve, and was made up of $22 million from Powerball first division and $333,333 from Lotto first division.

On Thursday the town's rumour mill was rife with speculation about who, and where, the winner was from.

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The woman, through a written statement, explained that she found out she had the winning ticket while at home watching a movie.

'I was tucked up in bed early on Wednesday night watching a movie on my laptop, when all of a sudden a family member rushed into my bedroom,' she said.

With the news of a ticket from Inglewood winning the big prize, the family member knew the woman had recently bought a Lotto ticket and told her to check it.

'I grabbed my ticket off the dresser and handed it to him to check. He pulled up the results on MyLotto then glanced at the screen and said 'you're the winner!,' she said.

Inglewood Book Centre owner Loraine Reeve the day after the winning ticket was sold in her shop.

'I didn't believe him as he's a bit of a practical joker, so I replied 'Am I really?' That's when he said 'Nah – I haven't even checked the ticket yet'.'

But when he checked the ticket for real, she found out she had won.

'When he turned and told me I'd won, I knew he wasn't joking this time. His face had completely changed and he even had tears in his eyes — and he never cries.

Big Barrel manager Surjit Virk, of Inglewood, pictured with a couple of expensive bottles of champagne - a tipple the $22.3m winner and her family have probably indulged on in the last 48 hours.

'We both stood there completely stunned and then gave each other a big hug — it was such an 'oh my God, is this really happening to me' moment,' she said.

She shared the good news immediately with her family.

'As soon as I walked in the door, they guessed what had happened straight away. I think they could just tell on my face that I was in a bit of a shock.'

She said it had been a joyous moment for them

'None of us got any sleep that night, no matter how hard we tried,' she said.

After celebrating the win with a few drinks on the deck, the winner kept her ticket locked away until visiting Lotto headquarters in Auckland on Friday.

She declined to be interviewed by the media directly but admitted it had been a 'bit of a whirlwind' since her big win, which had yet to fully sink in.

'It's all been a bit of a shock, so for right now I'm going to take some time and think about what to do next,' she said.

Her first priority was to share her winnings with close family.

'I want to say thanks for everything they have done for me.'

She also hoped to share her good fortune with others down the track as well.

'I have the opportunity to change lives and I can't wait to do it.'