7 October 2005
Lotto First Division Winner Keeps Her Secret As Workmates Joke About Big Win
The owners of the ticket bought in Manurewa that won Lotto First Division last Saturday have claimed their $500,000
prize, says New Zealand Lotteries Commission (NZ Lotteries) Chief Executive Trevor Hall.
"The couple (who wish to remain anonymous) are regular Lotto players and also keen sports fans. They check their numbers
on Sunday so they can collect any prizes straight away on Monday. Last Sunday they were watching the National Rugby
League final on TV and she checked the numbers at half time, while he was out of the room," Mr Hall said.
When the husband came back into the room, he saw his wife looking very shocked.
"We got six numbers," she said. "I can't believe it. We got six numbers."
The husband wasn't quite sure what had happened but knew it was good news when he saw the pen and the lucky Lotto ticket
in his wife's hand. Then he realised what she meant by 'we got six numbers.'
"On Monday one of my colleagues didn't come in to work because she was sick. The boss was joking about how she was
probably pulling a sickie so she could go to Wellington and collect her big Lotto win," she said.
"The boss was joking about how my colleague's dreams had all come true and other workmates were all joking about it too
and talking about what they would do if they won Lotto.
"It felt like everyone must have guessed that I had the winning ticket, but I managed to keep cool and calm, so nobody
at work knew we had just won half a million dollars," she said.
"We told our parents straight away but we didn't let on to our workmates and other friends that we had won Lotto. We'll
tell more people when we've figured out what we're going to do with the money," he said.
"We want to pay a few debts and have a house without a mortgage, but we haven't really thought beyond that," he said.
"We didn't sleep very well for a couple of night. We were just too excited thinking about how we had won half a million
dollars," she said.
Mr Hall said that the winners bought their ticket at the Southmall Lotto Kiosk in Manurewa, Auckland.
ENDS