The family’s newfound wealth consists of a New Zealand Powerball First Division prize of NZ$23.8 million and a Lotto First Division prize worth NZ$500,000. Springfield Superette owner Raj Kumar was there when the husband and father discovered his good fortune, and told ONE News that Rotorua had been left ‘buzzing’. Lotto spokeswoman Katy Akin agreed, saying: “We haven’t heard anything, but the town is abuzz.”
The family have since come forward to claim their winnings and have been reflecting on how it felt to find out that they had instantly become multimillionaires. “We had no idea our ticket had all six Lotto numbers and the matching Powerball,” one of the winners said in the New Zealand Herald. “I called the family home to tell them. My wife and kids were screaming and jumping up and down in the background.”
The latest success is the fifth-largest Powerball prize ever won in the history of New Zealand’s Lotto game, but the winners intend to carry on with their lives as normal and definitely won’t quit their jobs. The record Powerball win stands at NZ$33 million, which was scooped by a player from West Auckland in September 2013.
