Bay man celebrates $500k Lotto win

A Bay of Plenty man was left dumbstruck after winning $500,000 with Lotto First Division on Saturday.

The winner purchased his winning ticket online at MyLotto.co.nz - the first time he'd ever bought a ticket online.

"I remembered I needed to pick up a Lotto ticket late on Saturday and just couldn't bear the thought of bundling the kids into the car and heading into town," he said.

"So I decided to try my luck on MyLotto instead."

After watching the rugby that night, the winner decided to jump online and checked his ticket.

"I watched the numbers get circled on my ticket one by one and thought, 'that's a lot of circles.'

"Then a realised I had all the numbers on one line - I couldn't believe it! I just sat staring at the screen in disbelief."

Then the winner broke the exciting news to his wife.

"I was an absolute mess and just managed to stutter, 'I think we've won Lotto'. She had no idea what I was talking about.

"We just stood there in the middle of the lounge for hours letting the win sink in. I mean, I know everyone dreams about it, but actually winning is just the strangest, most wonderful feeling."

With the winnings now safely in his bank account the winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, is enjoying planning how he spends his prize.

"There are so many things we can do now. We're definitely going to pay off the mortgage, but we're also planning on taking the kids away on a family holiday - we haven't had a break in ages, so it will be great to have some family time.

"Who knows, we might even be able to stay somewhere a bit fancy - we're Lotto winners after all," he laughed.

The winning ticket was purchased online at MyLotto.co.nz.