Two Sets Of South Island Grandparents Win Big With Lotto

An elderly couple from the Catlins are over the moon after winning $5.3 million with Lotto Powerball, and a grandfather from Nelson is equally pleased with his $500,000 too, both of which were from the draw on Saturday 28 April.

The 78-year-old and 83-year-old retired Catlins couple have seven children and plenty of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, so the winnings will go a long way.

The timing of the win was incredibly fortuitous for the hard-working couple, who wish to remain anonymous.

“I have been working part-time, but recently decided to retire. On the way to my last day of work I stopped in the supermarket to check my ticket and found out that we’d won,” said the grandmother.

“We’re absolutely delighted. The money will be shared around the family – I think the children are more excited than we are!” she added.

The couple’s winnings are made up of $5 million from Powerball and a $333,333 share of Lotto First Division. They bought their winning ticket from Balclutha New World.

Meanwhile, at the top of the Mainland, grandfather of 12, Eric from Nelson has three big events coming up that are going to be a little bigger than planned following his half a million dollar windfall.

“It’s my wife’s 70th in August, our 50th wedding anniversary in September, and our son’s getting married in November – so this couldn’t have happened at a better time,” laughs Eric.

The 70-year-old retiree says everyone in town knows, and everyone’s been really happy for him.

“We went into Richmond Pak N Save, where we always buy our tickets, and gave them some flowers and chocolates to say thank you last week, but also because they’re always so nice, and they always remember what tickets I get too,” adds Eric.

ENDS

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