Trip to Auckland beach ends in $18.2m Lotto win for couple

Tuesday, 26 November 2019

The daydream of spending a million dollars is one all Kiwi's have indulged in at some stage or another, including Lotto presenter Sonia Gray, who talked to Stuff last year.

A trip to the beach for a West Auckland family has left them multi-millionaires.

The couple, who wish to remain anonymous, are Lotto's latest big winners, winning $18.2 million in Powerball.

The family spent Saturday at Shakespear Regional Park, on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, and decided to buy a Lotto ticket from Four Square on the way home.

A West Auckland couple has won $18.2million in Powerball.

The man, who is a regular Lotto player, has played the same numbers for the last few years after he won $500 with them.

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The family spent Saturday at Shakespear Regional Park and decided to buy a Lotto ticket from Four Square on the way home.

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'I just thought they were lucky as I had never won anything before that, so I've continued to play the numbers since,' he said.

The man wasn't aware the winning ticket had been sold in Whangaparaoa and decided to check his ticket while at the supermarket on Sunday.

'First Division winner' flashed up on the screen, although he didn't know what it meant.

'I thought maybe I had won a bonus ticket or maybe $25 but never thought I had won the big one,' he said.

The man said he asked the Lotto operator for help, who took him aside and discreetly told him he had won Powerball.

'He said to me 'Your life has just changed forever'.'

The man said he tried to regain his composure and continued grocery shopping. He put the ticket into a safe while trying to decide how he would tell his wife. He did so later that evening.

The man's wife said he told her he needed to tell her something but she wasn't paying too much attention.

She said: 'He said 'Sit down. Sit down now. I need to talk to you'. So I thought to myself 'Oh my gosh, what does he want?''

She said he then showed her a picture of the winning numbers and told her what they had won.

'I couldn't believe it, I still can't believe it. It feels like we are walking around in a dream,' she said.

The couple celebrated with a bottle of red wine and haven't slept since they learnt of their big win.

They plan to use the money to support family and friends, travel overseas and donate to a number of charities.

The couple's win is the fourth biggest Powerball win this year.