One lucky South Island couple has walked away with more than $300,000 after winning Lotto's First Division.
The Lincoln couple, who wished to remain anonymous, won $333,333 last Wednesday night.
They are overjoyed and said they have regularly played the same numbers for the past 20 years, which were chosen by them and their children.
But it was a Triple Dip bought on a whim last Wednesday morning that turned out to be the luck of the draw.
And the man revealed the ticket nearly blew away before they could claim their mammoth prize.
"I was in a rush to pick up some biscuits for work and decided to check one of my old tickets," the man said. "While I was waiting for the Lotto operator to check it, I thought, 'I may as well get one for tonight'."
With the biscuit situation sorted and the ticket stuffed safely in his pocket, the man rushed to work.
By the time the evening rolled around, he had forgotten about the ticket and hadn't heard his local store had sold a big winner.
It wasn't until Sunday evening he thought to check it – and by that time, it had seen better days, he said.
"I'd been doing some water blasting at the weekend and my clothes had gotten drenched. I found the ticket in my pocket and saw the numbers had already started to fade. So, I put it on the side of the truck for half a day to dry out. I didn't think about it at the time, but it could've blown away!" the man laughed.
"When we checked it on the app, we didn't expect to see anything. But when we saw the words, 'MAJOR WINNER,' and that it was First Division, my wife just burst into tears!"
The couple is "still processing" the win and hasn't had a chance to celebrate yet.
"It's especially lovely to have before Christmas. And it truly is life-changing for us – it gives us the opportunity to own our own home," he added.
They aren't the only ones celebrating. One lucky Southland couple won a whopping $6.3 million in last Wednesday's Powerball First Division.
The couple said they've "been on such a high" since their win and have plenty of ideas for the future.
