Midnight Windfall For Southland Woman

A midnight scratch by a Southland mother resulted in a sleepless night and a $100,000 windfall when she hit the jackpot winning the top prize on a Jumbo Crossword Instant Kiwi, NZ Lotteries Chief Executive Todd McLeay said.

The 'gobsmacked' winner had purchased her ticket earlier that day, but didn't get a chance to scratch it until after midnight when she got home from work.

"Initially, I thought I'd won $1,000, but then I recounted the words and it dawned on me that I might have won the top prize," said the winner, who wishes to remain anonymous.

Thinking her head might be a bit cloudy due to the time of day she wrote out all her winning words on a separate piece of paper and recounted them. Still unable to believe her luck, she then double checked her letters against the words she had scratched off. The end result, each time, $100,000.

"I didn't sleep much that night, I was shaking and I couldn't believe it. The last time I had won anything was back in 1987 when Lotto first began and I won $700," said the delighted mother.

She claimed her ticket at the Junction Caf and Dairy in Lumsden the next day.

"I walked into that outlet with butterflies in my stomach, when I passed over the ticket I think they were just as overwhelmed as me," said the winner.

Jan Johnson the lottery operator from Junction Caf and Dairy who processed the winning ticket said the winner's butterflies were not evident when she walked into the store to check her ticket.

"She looked cool, calm and collected," said Jan, who was "absolutely delighted" for the winner.

It is the largest prize that anyone had ever claimed on an Instant Kiwi ticket at the Junction Caf and Dairy. The ticket was sold by Pak "N" Save, Invercargill.

ENDS

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