Aucklander Wins $12 Million In New Zealand Powerball

A father from Auckland, New Zealand, received an unexpected birthday surprise after winning the $12 million Powerball first division prize on Saturday 30th June. He was celebrating his big day on holiday in the tourist town of Wanaka, a region in the country’s South Island, when the winning numbers came through.

Winner Only Went To Buy Birthday Lamb And Salad

The Aucklander, who has decided to remain anonymous, matched the numbers 12, 16, 23, 29, 31 and 39, plus Powerball 1, to land the eight-figure New Zealand Powerball prize.

The winner has revealed he only went to the local supermarket to pick up some supplies for dinner but ended up buying his winning ticket as well. He told the local media: "We just wanted a quiet night in to celebrate my birthday with our friends, so went to New World (a supermarket chain in New Zealand) to pick up something special for dinner – lamb and a salad.

"As we headed out to the car we saw the queue at the Lotto counter and decided to pick up a ticket. It was quite busy though, so there was a bit of a wait – we nearly left the line, actually."

The lucky ticket holder said his wife persuaded him to remain in the queue after he grew increasingly impatient having to wait in line. He was going to go home, but the wise words from his wife proved invaluable, as the winning Powerball numbers matched those on the ticket he eventually bought.

He added: "When I saw that the winning ticket had been sold at the same shop we bought our ticket from, I knew I had to check it. I pulled up the winning numbers and checked them off – and there they were, all in a row on line F.”

The winner’s wife said: “He casually called out – 'come here, I think we've won Lotto (Powerball)'. I thought we'd maybe won $20 or so, there was nothing in his voice that hinted at just how big the prize was."

Married Couple Yet To Tell The Kids

The married couple, who returned to their home in Auckland on Sunday 2nd July after their break in Wanaka, wasted little time in collecting their winnings. All New Zealand Powerball winners have twelve months from the date of the draw to come forward and claim their prize, but they visited the lottery’s head office in the city the following day to receive their eight-figure sum.

He said: "We haven't even told the kids yet, so that's the next big thing to do – it'll be a pretty memorable moment, that's for sure! As for what we'll do, we definitely want to help people – this win will go a lot further than our immediate family.

"We both love travelling and sports, so might treat the family to trip to Japan for the Rugby World Cup next year – or even the Olympics.”

Choose Numbers For Saturday’s Draw

The Aucklander is the seventh winner of the lottery’s first division prize this year, following on from a Hamilton man who won$9.3 million on Saturday 2nd June.

Powerball can be played alongside New Zealand Lotto for an additional $0.80, and with an estimated $5 million up for grabs in Saturday’s draw, choose your numbers online from various locations around the world to be in with a chance of winning.