A lucky MyLotto player from Christchurch says his family thought he was joking when he told them he won $22.5 million in Lotto Powerball’s Saturday night draw.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, told Lotto NZ he was feeling lucky after recently winning two raffle prizes, so was hoping his regular Lotto numbers he had been playing for three years would also come in for him.
“Things tend to run in threes, so I did wonder if l’d win Lotto this weekend,” he said.
It wasn’t until Sunday morning upon checking his ticket that he realised just how lucky he’d been.
“I saw the numbers circled off on my ticket one after the other – by the time I saw four in a row I thought I had something pretty good.
“Then when all six were circled I crossed my fingers and hoped I would see Powerball 3 come up – and there it was. I was absolutely stunned!
“I called my wife in straight away and said, ‘I think I’ve won Lotto!’ – she didn’t believe me!” said the winner.
The couple’s children also though he was pulling their legs.
“Neither of my kids believed me either – when I told my daughter she just said, ‘I’m sick of your tricks, Dad, put Mum on,'” he said.
The winner said he is still coming to terms with the life-changing win.
“I had so much trouble sleeping that first night after we found out – my mind was racing with 22 million ideas running through my head.
“This win will set us up, our kids up and the grandchildren. You have such a special role to play in the lives of your children and grandchildren — life is all about the memories you leave behind,” said the winner.
“We are excited to have more time and freedom to create those memories with them.”
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