'A great moment in my life': $5.3m Lotto winner claims prize

Customers in Port Chalmers consider buying a Lotto ticket at the Windsor On the Spot Express store, after it sold a winning Lotto ticket worth $5.3 million last weekend. Photo: Peter McIntosh

An excited South Island Lotto winner checked the winning numbers in the

then slept beside the winning ticket after scoring $5.3 million.

The individual, who wants to remain anonymous, is still coming to terms with the win after buying the ticket in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, at the weekend.

After hearing about the win, they sat down with their copy of the

Otago Daily Times

and crossed out each number by hand.

“I got all the numbers!”

In the following days the winner kept the ticket close, sleeping next to it at night.

"I had a hard time falling asleep, but I didn't want to let it out of my sight,” they laughed.

The person had been playing the same Lotto Powerball numbers for five years, a practice first adopted during the Covid-19 lockdown.

They celebrated the win with a small celebration with close family.

“We had champagne and a home-cooked dinner to mark the beginning of something new.

“Even though it hasn’t sunk in yet, this is a great moment in my life, and I’m very grateful for it.”

The South Island has been on a winning streak, with the past three Powerball winners coming from tickets purchased in stores on the mainland.

On March 15, a $10 million Powerball jackpot was split between two winners from Christchurch and Dunedin, who each took home $5.5 million, and then just seven days later the latest $5.3 million prize was won on a ticket sold in Port Chalmers. - APL