The second winner of Sunday’s $30 million Powerball has come forward to claim his share of the prize, taking home $15,083,333.
The winners, an Invercargill woman and Wellington man, said their win was “unbelievable” and “surreal”.
The first claimant, the Invercargill woman, said she had been playing her own numbers for years. She bought her ticket from Plaza Supervalue before sitting down to watch the draw.
“I always watch the draw on Saturday night and write down the numbers to check my ticket against,” she said.
“When I saw I had all six numbers and the Powerball, my first thought was ‘I really hope someone else has won too’, – that was before I saw the official results that it was two of us.”
She shared the news with her children immediately, telling her daughter: “How would you feel if I told you I was going to pay your mortgage?”
“My son didn’t believe me at first, he had to check the ticket himself,” she laughed. “They were both thrilled for me.”
After a sleepless night, she returned to the Plaza Supervalue and claimed her prize.
“It was such a strange feeling hearing people talking about the win and who might have won it, knowing it was me and that no one knew,” she said.
‘My family said to make sure I fly first class’
The woman said she was planning to make sure her children and grandchildren were financially secure and taking an overdue trip.
“I’ve been wanting to go for a long time, and now I can – my family said I have to make sure I fly first-class though,” she said.
The Wellington man, who bought his ticket on MyLotto, discovered he’d become a multi-millionare while checking his emails.
“I thought I must have won a small prize,” he said.
“I couldn’t see the top of the ticket on the screen, so it wasn’t until I scrolled up that I saw how much I had won – I was in shock.
“I think I checked my ticket a million times that day just to be sure – and every time felt just as surreal.”
The man celebrated the win with his family and a glass of champagne.
He planned to use the money to buy a house, help his family and invest for his future.
Lotto stores and the Lotto app saw a surge in interest as the $30m draw approached on Saturday, which was the highest jackpot since October last year.
The pair were the tenth and eleventh Powerball multimillionaires this year.