$10m Lotto winner had won before

Photo / Hawkes Bay Today

A shocked "hardworking" Dunedin mother who claimed her $10.8 million Lotto Powerball prize today is used to the winning feeling.

The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, also won a share of Lotto first division a couple of years ago, NZ Lotteries said.

The previous win was enough to put her on her feet and buy a new car, but the millions will change her life, she said.

"I have lived on coffee and nerves since watching the draw on Saturday night and realising that I had all of the seven winning numbers.

"It is so hard to believe that I could win Lotto twice."

The woman kept the ticket hidden in her underwear drawer since Saturday, and made a couple of photocopies to leave around the house.

She called the Lotteries Commission yesterday morning and said she was "going to take a couple of days" to decide how she would claim the prize.

"Since winning Lotto the first time I still kept buying my weekly dip ticket," she said.

"I am an optimistic person and believe that anything is possible - it also gives me a chance to dream each week as well."

The woman plans to safely invest the money, help family members, and help one particular charity she has a close relationship with.

"Despite Marcus Lush suggesting on the radio yesterday that I should buy Dunedin's Larnach Castle, I have more modest plans, and would like to build my own brand new dream home in the future," she said.

The winning ticket was sold at Dunedin's Paper Plus in the Golden Centre Mall.

Valued at $10,845,530, it was the biggest amount won from a Dunedin store, NZ Lotteries said.

The prize money was made up of a first division win of $1,059,968 and a Powerball jackpot of $9,785,562.

- NZPA