(file image) Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
One lucky Cantabrian is New Zealand's newest millionaire after picking up more than $17 million in the Powerball draw - the first big win of 2024.
The winning ticket for the mouth-watering sum was sold on MyLotto to the player from Canterbury.
The prize is made up of $17 million from Powerball First Division and $250,000 from Lotto First Division.
The mouth-watering sum was up for grabs in the Super Saturday Lotto Powerball draw.
And just one person struck it big, having all six Lotto balls and the Power Ball.
The numbers are: 8, 20, 25, 32, 11 and 13. The Bonus Ball is 7, and the Power Ball is 1.
Three other lucky Lotto players will also be celebrating after each winning $250,000 with First Division in the live draw.
The winning tickets were sold at Highpoint Temptations Lotto in Birkenhead, Four Square Mangapapa in Gisborne and on MyLotto to a player from Franklin, Waikato.
Meanwhile, a lucky Strike player will also be celebrating after winning $400,000 with Strike Four. The winning Strike ticket was sold at Mitchell's Paper Power in Northcote.
The winner is the latest person over the past year to cash in big time when, four weeks ago an Auckland couple scored $12.2m.
They vowed to spend their win on "sensible stuff".
"It wasn't until we got the call from Lotto NZ that the reality started to sink in," the woman said.
"We're still thinking about what we'd like to do with the money, but we're pretty sensible people."
"Sensible, mundane stuff" topped their wishlist, the woman said, such as investing in a home for the future.
"It's amazing to know we have so many options now," she said.
"We can't wait to support our family and spend time on the things that really matter."
(file image) Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
In the middle of 2023, a Christchurch couple who won one of the largest Lotto draws in recent history kept their ticket hidden in the sock drawer for days while they worked out what they would do with their winnings.
The couple, who wished to remain anonymous, said they were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the win and needed time to process it before coming forward.
The mouthwatering $33.5m win was eventually claimed after the numbers were announced on 28 June.
The woman said she had been busy doing chores on the night of the draw, and so it wasn't until quite late that she decided to check her ticket.
"I had been busy doing a few things, and then I thought I may as well check my ticket before I went to bed.
"I looked the numbers up online and started checking each line of the ticket.
"The winning line was right at the bottom, and the numbers just sort of jumped out at me - all of them," she said.
"I couldn't breathe at first - I was almost hyperventilating."
The woman said her husband had already gone to bed and she had to wake him up to confirm the prize.
"My husband had already gone to bed so I woke him up and said, 'Can you please check this for me? These numbers are dancing on the paper. Is it actually real?'."
After her husband confirmed the jackpot was real, the couple said it was hard to go back to sleep afterwards.
The couple said they were in no rush to claim their prize the next day - or even the next week.
"We wanted to keep things normal while we thought about our next steps."
But with such a life-changing event, sleep was hard to come by, they said.
"I'd keep things cool during the day but then come home and cry - tears of happiness, of course, but it was also a lot to take in," the woman said.
The couple said they had kept their yellow ticket hidden in a sock drawer.
It was "nerve-wracking" to know they had a small piece of paper in the draw that was now worth more than $33m, they said.
Previously, a lucky player won $15.5m in a 'Must Be Won' draw, from which half the value of ticket sales was diverted back into initiatives in regions devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle almost a year ago.
Photo: Wairoa District Council's Emergency Controller
The winning ticket was purchased by a MyLotto player from Canterbury.
"We'd like to thank New Zealanders for getting behind this special draw for cyclone relief. The support has been incredible and will make a real difference to people and communities impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle," Lotto NZ chief executive Chris Lyman said at the time.
"It has been a privilege for Lotto NZ to host this special draw, and our thoughts remain with those affected by the cyclone."
The draw eventually raised $11.7m to go towards damaged communities.
Then in August, a family from Wairoa impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle celebrated a $10.3m Lotto Powerball win.
It had been a year filled with "challenges", so the family were "thankful for this prize and looking forward to the future".
Some of the winnings would be used to help their whānau, with Wairoa Mayor Craig Little urging the lucky winner to try and keep their windfall quiet.
Other mammoth wins from throughout the past 12 months include $37.1m won in Paraparaumu, $33.5m won in Christchurch, $24.25m struck in Lower Hutt and $23.5m won in Auckland.
- This story was first published on the New Zealand Herald.