A Napier woman won $600,000 in Lotto Strike. Photo/ Michael Bradley.
A Napier woman won $600,000 in Lotto Strike. Photo/ Michael Bradley.
Going to the Australian Open, and a big trip to Europe next year tops the wishlist for the Napier Lotto Strike winner.
The Napier woman who won $600,000 with Strike Four Saturday night's Lotto draw was in shock when she realised she had won.
The woman, who wishes to remainanonymous, had no idea her local supermarket had sold a big prize until she went to buy some groceries earlier this week.
"I remembered I hadn't checked my tickets from the weekend yet, so after I finished my shop I headed over to the Lotto area," she said.
"As soon as I approached the counter, the Lotto lady asked me whether I had purchased my ticket from their store as they had sold a winning Strike ticket.
"I told her I wasn't sure as I buy my tickets all over the place — it didn't even occur to me that perhaps I could be the winner they were looking for."
As she scanned her tickets under the self-checker, she saw the word 'congratulations' flash up on the screen.
"I honestly thought I might've won $30 to $40 so I asked the lady to check my tickets.
"As soon she put the Strike ticket through the machine, the Lotto lady's eyes lit up and the winning music started to play. All I managed to say was, 'You've got to be kidding me'"
With the news she was now more than half a million dollars richer, the woman's first reaction was to call her husband.
"When I told him how much we'd won he was so quiet on the other end I thought that his phone had died," laughed the woman.
"He was in complete shock — we both were."
Celebrating their windfall with a dinner out, the couple are now turning their attention to how they might spend their newfound fortune.
"We've always wanted to go to the Aussie Open once in our lives and it feels unreal that it's now going to become a reality," she said.
"While both of us are still working, this win has given us peace of mind that we can retire comfortably and can continue to tick things off our bucket list — starting with a big trip to Europe next year."
