A group of sixteen Tauranga workmates are thrilled after winning $500,000 in the Lotto.
The winning ticket was sold at Paper Plus in Mount Maunganui for the draw on June 5
The group's organiser, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he has been buying Lotto tickets with his coworkers for almost three years.
He said the group's first ticket won $81 so he was feeling "pretty happy" before he even checked the winning ticket.
"The Lotto operator congratulated us and said we'd won half a million dollars with Lotto First Division. I just couldn't believe it - my hands started shaking straight away."
He then plotted how to share the news with his coworkers, deciding to print out an A3 copy of the receipt and call a surprise meeting.
"Everyone gathered in the boardroom and I opened the meeting by going over the rules as there were a few people who had just joined the syndicate recently.
"It was then that I noticed a few people had gone very quiet, and I could tell that they had started to click that something was going on.
"That's when I unfolded the A3 paper in the middle of the table and said, 'Oh - and we've just won $500,000!' The room just erupted with joy - everyone went nuts! There were plenty of hugs and high fives in the boardroom that day."
He said the win will make a big difference for many people in the group.
"One person has a baby on the way, another is getting married soon... This win is going to make a real difference to so many people - being able to share this win with my workmates is incredibly special. It's just awesome."
There have been several groups who have won big over the years including a group of 10 women who won $30 million in 2017 on a ticket bought in Taupo.
A group of Te Kuiti coworkers also won big, picking up $1 million the same year.
