Previous big Lotto winners' advice for Saturday's $50m winner

Saturday, 29 February 2020

Parents worry big lottery wins could end up turning their children lazy. (Video first published February 2020)

The reality of winning big in Lotto can make it easy to forget to do the simple things, say its previous biggest-ever winners.

A couple from the Hibiscus Coast won $44 million in November 2016, and have provided some advice for whoever might win tonight's $50m Powerball.

'First of all, don't have a heart attack. But seriously …remember to eat and sleep in the first two weeks.

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'It's the little things like that that are easy to forget in the early days after a big win.'

The couple said it was good to celebrate with family, and get everyone they wanted to share with together to tell them the good news.

While sharing the winnings was the most fun, it was good to be up front about plans around gifts.

'It's so nice having people to talk to as you get your head around it.'

The couple said the best thing they did was to get good financial advice.

'Go into the conversation with a good idea about what you want to do long term.'

Saturday was on-track to be the busiest day in Lotto NZ history, with 2000 tickets being sold every minute.

More than 1.9 million tickets had been sold by mid-afternoon, on track to reach a record 2.5 million by the time stores closed.

'Stores around the country are buzzing as Kiwis pick up a ticket to be part of Lotto NZ history – we're seeing queues out the door in some places,' said Marie Winfield, Lotto's communications head.