A Hamilton couple who banked a staggering $8.3 million in last weekend's Lotto Powerball have described their life-changing win as "surreal".
The anonymous couple said they have been living "in a dream" after discovering their Powerball First Division ticket had secured them millionaire status.
"We found out on the morning after the draw," the man said. "I was having my coffee and reading through some work emails when I came across an email from Lotto NZ saying I'd won a prize.
"I jumped onto the MyLotto App to check my ticket but didn't actually see the numbers lineup because I was too busy drinking my coffee," he laughed.
"When I looked back at the ticket, it had $8.3 million across the top, which I thought was $8333 at first glance. To be fair, I was pretty happy with that.
"I called my partner over to have a look and she thought it was $8333, too."
After closer inspection, the coupled realised it was a bit more than that - 1000 times more.
"We were shocked and thought it was too good to be true, but when we looked online and saw someone in Hamilton had won $8.3 million, we realised we had really won," the man said.
After claiming their winnings online, the couple "got on with their day" but made sure to share the exciting news with their children and enjoy a "couple of celebratory drinks in the evening".
Over a week later, the news still "hasn't properly sunk in", the man said, admitting he's revisited their ticket a few times to "make sure it's real".
Despite pocketing a Powerball win, not much has changed for the couple, who are back at work and aren't "rushing out to buy anything crazy".
"We plan to take our time to think about what we really want to do. But we'll definitely pay off our mortgage and help our family.
"This win has opened up so many opportunities for us, and we want to make sure we make the most of it."
The winning $8.3 million Powerball First Division ticket was sold on MyLotto for the draw on Saturday, November 11, marking the 16th Powerball First Division winner of 2023.
