A North Otago family vow to continue the Christmas spirit of giving after discovering on Boxing Day that they had won Lotto’s $18.25 million dollar jackpot — the second largest prize won by a Kiwi in 2020.
The family, who wish to remain anonymous, said they buy a Triple Dip ticket a few times a month but decided to treat themselves to tickets for the draws on both the 23rd and 26th of December.
While the first ticket was a dud, the second was life-changing.
“Our minds are still spinning,” the man said.
“We heard that the winning ticket had been bought at the Waitaki New World in Oamaru, which is where we always buy our tickets, but had to wait until we got home to check ours.
“I checked it and couldn’t believe it that we had all of the numbers. I must have checked it 10 more times.”
Even after that, the family wasn’t convinced and opted to use the scanner on the the MyLotto app, which reassured them soon after that they were a “major prize winner”.
“I shouted out loudly, ‘It’s us!’” said the woman. “I told my children and everyone started crying. We just couldn’t believe it,” she said.
The couple have since visited Waitaki New World to have their win confirmed.
“It’s still sinking in,” the man added. “We have so many thoughts swirling around in our heads – it doesn’t feel real yet.”
The family plan to spend the New Year's break celebrating their big win before looking to give back to others.
“It’s very early days and we have a lot to think about – but what we do know is that we want to help people in need. Our goal is to make a difference in the lives of people who really need it – and a win like this allows us to do that.
“We also want to help our children and wider family, and at some stage will probably treat ourselves to a new car,” the man said.
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