Whakatane Student Becomes Lotto’s First Guaranteed Millionaire
The New Zealand Lotteries Commission) is delighted to announce that a local Whakatane twenty- fouryear old student has
become Lotto’s first guaranteed millionaire.
The young woman who wishes to remain anonymous claimed her prize at the Hamilton East Lotto shop on Wednesday, 6
November and says the first thing that she wants to do is pay off her $50,000 student loan.
The winning $5 Lucky Dip was sold at Whakatane Paper Plus. Lotto’s new guaranteed millionaire says family friends gave
her the ticket as a birthday present.
“My parents rang me to tell me to check my ticket following the announcement of the new millionaire on Saturday night’s
Lotto draw.”
“I’ve just moved flats so I thought I had lost it, but after rummaging around I found it and took it into the Lotto shop
thinking I could maybe have won $40. When I found out I had won the million I was obviously really excited but also in
shock”.
The local student says she’s not going to rush into anything, but wants to take her family on a holiday first and also
set up a trust fund for her brother and sisters who are about to begin their tertiary education, so that none of them
have to incur a student loan.
“It’s absolutely fantastic. I have a few years to go before I finish my degree, but it’s really nice to know that I have
a secure financial future before I even start my career.”
Three other Division One winners were also made on the 800th Lotto draw, in Porirua, Hamilton and Auckland, each
receiving a quarter of a million dollars.
“We look forward to creating another Lotto guaranteed millionaire this coming Saturday and every Saturday after that”,
saiys Warren Salisbury, Acting Chief Executive..“And with the Powerball top prize of $7.5m this week we are also
expecting to make one or more multi-millionaires in the weeks ahead. It ‘s an exciting time for us and our players.”