Whangārei couple in tears after $500,000 Lotto First Division win

The ticket that left a Whangārei couple in tears after it won them $500,000 with Lotto First Division.

A Whangārei couple were reduced to tears of joy on Sunday morning after finding out they had just won half a million dollars with Lotto First Division.

The man, who plays the same lucky numbers every week, was at home with his wife when he decided to check his ticket last Saturday night.

"I looked up the numbers online and as soon as I saw them I thought they looked familiar," said the man.

Writing them down on the back of the envelope, the man checked them off his ticket.

"The numbers stood out straight away — they were right there on the first line. As soon as I saw we had all six, I yelled out to my wife 'I think we've cracked it — we've won Lotto'," said the man.

"I choked up straight away. We both stood there crying and laughing — it was a special moment for us."

After heading down to their local Lotto shop to claim the prize, the man and his wife spent the rest of the weekend coming to terms with their Lotto win.

"It was a bit of a strange weekend. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of me — but in a good way. It felt quite unreal," said the man.

With the prize now in the couple's bank account, the winners already have plans on how they want to spend their Lotto win.

"We're both passionate about fishing — getting out on the water and enjoying New Zealand — so first on the list is a new motor for the boat," he said.

"We also want to help out our families and put some aside for the future. This is win is such a blessing for us and we couldn't be more grateful."

The winning ticket was sold at Pak'nSave Whangārei for the Lotto draw on June 1.

The win continues an amazing run of Lotto luck for Northland with 12 Division I, Strike, Bullseye and Instant Kiwi wins, and 23 Lotto and Powerball Second Division prizes won in the region so far this year.

The largest win this year has been a $5.5 million Lotto and Powerball First Division prize sold at Taipa Foodmarket for the May 1 draw, which was won by a couple from the area.