Lotto Powerball winners claims share of $38 million

Tuesday, 28 November 2017

One lucky winner who bought a ticket in Greytown is $19 million richer. (File photo)

A Wairarapa family made up of three generations has claimed the $19.1 million Powerball First Division prize won in Greytown last week - their half of the $38 million prize.

The winners, who wish to remain anonymous, purchase a ticket together every draw using numbers that are special to the family.

FreshChoice Greytown owner Chris Ward has been getting messages from around the world about the winning ticket sold from the store.

'As soon as I saw the winning numbers in the paper the next day, I thought they looked very familiar,' said the winner who bought the ticket.

'But I couldn't bring myself to check our ticket, which was sitting in the glovebox of my car. I kept eyeing up the car, going outside and opening the door, then shutting it and turning back to the house without so much as looking at the ticket.'

* Two $19 million Powerball prizes still unclaimed**

It wasn't until a few days later that the winner finally mustered the courage to check that little yellow piece of paper and confirm what they suspected.

'I kept seeing things in the paper saying the prize hadn't been claimed, so in the end I stood up and told my wife, 'This is it – I'm checking it!' and walked out to the car.

'I saw the winning line straight away and thought, 'Hello, yeah. Those are the numbers in the paper'. Then I put the ticket back in the glovebox and ran inside to check the paper again.

'I kept running back and forth between the car and the house to check and re-check the numbers – I don't know why I didn't just bring the ticket inside.'

After checking the ticket several times, the winner raced inside to tell his family the good news.

'I ran to my wife shouting 'We've got it, we've got it!' I was in such a state, crying and howling and holding my chest, so we decided to call my son-in-law to work out what the heck to do next,' said the winner.

The winners then took their ticket to a local Lotto store to claim their prize.

With the money now safely in their bank account, the family syndicate is looking forward to enjoying their prize.

'The most important thing for us is that the family is looked after – all the kids and grandkids, in every generation. It will make a real difference to so many people,' the winner said.

'We're also looking forward to helping out some local charities – we feel very fortunate and want to share that good luck around.'

The winning ticket was sold at Fresh Choice Greytown for the Lotto draw on Wednesday 22 November, where the $38 million Powerball prize was shared by two winners from Greytown and Warkworth.

The other $19.1 million Powerball winner is yet to claim their prize.