Tauranga woman wins $6.3m Lotto prize: 'I couldn't think straight'

Tauranga woman's shock $6.3m windfall with Powerball first division ticket. Photo / NZME

A Tauranga woman is the latest big Lotto winner with a $6.3 million Powerball First Division prize this week - just over a week after a local couple won $10.3m.

The winner, who wished to remain anonymous, told the NZ Lotteries Commission she picked up her winning ticket after enjoying a bit of luck in a previous Lotto draw.

"I'd recently won a couple of hundred on another ticket, which was awesome, so I thought I'd pick up a ticket using the Lotto NZ App this week," she said.

The woman said she was at work on Thursday morning when she noticed an email from Lotto NZ saying she had won a prize.

"I thought, 'another win? Surely someone is having me on!' – but I opened the app and checked my ticket anyway. Seeing all the numbers and the Powerball number circling off on my ticket caused my brain to go blank, and I began to shake uncontrollably."

"In that moment, I couldn't think straight at all and got up and took myself for a walk around the block to gather my thoughts.

"And for the rest of the day, I did my best to keep myself busy and distracted."

"I kept looking at my ticket that day, and even though I'd picked up a Dip ticket, I noticed that many of the numbers were birthdates of family members. It's surreal."

With her partner out of town, the woman faced her next challenge – keeping the exciting news to herself.

"That night, I barely slept, and I haven't eaten much since finding out. But I did grab a pizza yesterday evening to celebrate - that's all I ate that day," the woman said and laughed.

"My partner doesn't know the news yet, but he comes home this evening and I can't wait to tell him – I honestly can't wait to see his face."

With the prize safely claimed, the winner said she was looking forward to paying off the mortgage and setting her family up for the future.

The $6.3m winning Powerball ticket was sold on MyLotto and was made up of $6m from Powerball First Division and $333,333 from Lotto First Division.