Northland $8.3m Powerball win yet to be claimed

A Northlander may be blissfully unaware that they are $8.3 million richer with a winning Lotto and Powerball first division winner worth that amount yet to be claimed.

The winning ticket, made up of $8m with Powerball and $333,333 with Lotto, was bought online at MyLotto, had yet to be claimed at edition time yesterday, a Lotto NZ spokeswoman said.

As the win was done through MyLotto the winner had been sent a notification that they had won a prize and should check their ticket. But they would only get the notification if they logged on to their account and Lotto NZ was unsure if the winner had done that yet.

They may be aware of the win, but just be sitting back, letting it sink in before deciding their next step, the spokeswoman said.

The ticket won the prize in the draw on Wednesday, April 4.

''While it is slightly unusual (for a big prize not to be claimed quickly) it's not unknown and they may just be taking some time to let is sink in and they will come forward when they are ready,'' she said.

The winner would also be emailed. Now it was just a case of waiting for the big winner to get in touch.

The winner may be stuck deciding what to spend the money on after giving some to family, friends and charity.

They could buy at least 14 houses in the region, with the current average asking house price in Northland $592,091. They could also buy their own vineyard — Kerikeri's Marsden Estate Winery is on the market for $4.2m.

The prize was the second largest Powerball prize won in Northland and the first time a player from the region has won big with Powerball online through MyLotto. The largest prize won in Northland was $17.7m with Powerball first division, in May 2006, sold at Kaeo Four Square.