The family of Saturday's $20.2 million dollar Lotto Powerball draw just got a whole lot richer, after the winner annouced he is splitting the earnings.
The winner - a 'sparkie' in his late 50s - says he has already given half his fortune away.
"Family is the most important thing and we are so excited to be able to share our luck with the people we love most, and know that it's not just our life that has changed."
The man kept the winning ticket in his wallet over the past week, but somehow resisted the urge to check it straight away, he says.
"It's been all that anyone has been talking about around here," he says.
"Like everyone else in Christchurch, friends have been asking me if I had a Lotto ticket and then asking me why I hadn't checked it yet!"
The winning ticket was sold at Hornby Mall in west Christchurch, with the prize made up of $20 million from Powerball First Division and $200,000 from Lotto First Division.
"I thought, when I checked my ticket, I'd find out for sure it wasn't me and it was fun to dream for a while.
"You think you know how you're going to react when you get news like that, but to be honest, all I felt was this huge sense of relief.
"My first thought was 'yay, I can retire now'."
He went straight to his partner's work to give her the surprise of her life.
"There have been a lot of tears, good tears," he says. "Everyone has been so happy for us."
The winning numbers were 2, 11, 15, 29, 30, 38, with a Powerball of 7 and the bonus ball 36.
Saturday's Powerball win is the first for 2018, the fourth-largest prize ever won in the South Island and the 12th-largest win nationwide.
The store has sold 30 First Division tickets, making it the fourth 'luckiest' store in New Zealand.
In addition to the Powerball winner, there were four other first division winners, who won $200,000 each.
Newshub.
