“It’s Wonderful… But What The Heck!” Couple From The Hauraki District Claim $10.5 Million Powerball Prize

After buying a Powerball ticket on a whim, a couple from the Hauraki District have become Aotearoa’s newest multi-millionaires.

After a challenging day, the woman decided to stop at the Paper Plus and Toyworld in Waihi and treat herself to what she says is ‘probably the twentieth Lotto ticket she’s ever bought in her life.’

“I was driving home and had heard that Powerball was up to $10 million so I stopped in to grab a ticket.

“When I pulled up, I told myself – ‘I’m going to win Lotto tonight,’ but you don’t really think it will happen to you, do you?”

Tucking the ticket away in her bag and heading home, it wasn’t until the next morning that she thought to check it.

“Someone shared on Facebook that $10.5 million had been won at the Paper Plus and Toyworld in Waihi, and I thought, hang on a minute, that’s where I bought my ticket!”

Jumping up to grab her bag, she found the ticket and began marking the numbers listed on the Facebook post.

“I got to three numbers and was pleased to win something, but then there were four…five… six and the Powerball number all on one line.

“I didn’t know what to think! I went to show my partner, and we checked the numbers on MyLotto and that’s when we realised it was true – we were in shock!”

The next day the couple went back to the store to claim their prize but as they were about to walk in, they saw people cheering in the store and taking photos to celebrate the win.

“I turned straight back around and thought to myself, nope, this is really not the right time, so we went to grab a coffee and went back once it was a bit quieter,” she laughed.

After claiming their prize, they went home to share the news with their family.

“We told a few people, and it felt great. I just held up the prize claim form with the amount on and said, ‘so…this happened,’ and they were over the moon for us.”

The couple have spent the weekend trying to come to terms with their win and say it’s still surreal and will take some time to get used to.

“Winning this prize – it’s wonderful… but what the heck! It just doesn’t feel real!” the woman laughed.

“I’ve been struggling to eat and sleep – it creeps up on you again and again – in a good way though. It’s just hard to comprehend at the moment.”

“We’re going to help our children and close family with our win, but that’s as far as we’ve got with the plans at the moment,” said the woman.

Notes:

• The winning $10.5 million Powerball First Division ticket was sold at Paper Plus Waihi & Toyworld in Waihi for the draw on Wednesday 26 February.
• The $10.5 million Powerball prize is made up of $10 million from Powerball First Division and $500,000 from Lotto First Division.
• The winner would like to remain anonymous and does not wish to provide any further comment at this stage.
• This is the fourth Powerball First Division winner and tenth millionaire of 2025.

Powerball wins in 2025

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