Lotto winner chose numbers after tip from YouTube

Friday, 21 September 2018

A Christchurch man who won $2.5 million playing Lotto chose his numbers after a tip from a random YouTube video.

The man and his wife, who wanted to remain anonymous, were at home on Wednesday night but missed the Lotto draw on TV.

The man's wife was watching the Silver Ferns netball game while her husband dozed on the couch with the cat in his lap. When he woke up, the man's wife reminded him to check the ticket.

He got the Lotto results on his phone and read the winning numbers to his wife.

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'I started writing the numbers down on a bit of newspaper and I immediately recognised them,' she said.

'I turned to him and said, 'these numbers sound a hell of a lot like yours'.'

The man checked his ticket before handing it to his wife. 

His wife started screaming and the couple both began to cry.

'It was like 'Oh my goodness, it's happened',' she said.  

'We were a mess with tears. It was such an incredibly happy moment, it really did feel like a dream come true.'

The man had been playing Lotto for the past 20 years but had only played the winning numbers for a few months.

'I was on YouTube and I came across a random video where this guy suggested playing all odd numbers on one line, so I thought what the hell, I'll give it a go,' he said.

'My wife and kids teased me at the time, but it looks like he might've been right after all.'

They called their family, who came over to celebrate with a bottle of bubbles. 

After claiming their prize in Auckland on Friday, the couple were still deciding what to do with their winnings. 

They planned on helping out their children and grandchildren and ticking off a few more travel destinations on their bucket list, the man said.

Winning was a 'bit of a blur', he said.

'One minute I'm sitting on the couch with the cat, the next minute my wife's telling me I'm a multi-millionaire.'

The winning ticket was sold at New Brighton Lotto & Discounter in Christchurch. The $5 million Powerball prize was shared by two winners from Christchurch and Hastings, while 38 other Lotto players won a share of Lotto First Division's $1m jackpot. 

The other $2.5m Powerball winner is yet to claim their prize.