$13m lottery winner finally comes forward

A central North Island man is having trouble sleeping after belatedly finding out he has won $13.1 million in a Lotto draw last week.

The ticket for the Big Wednesday first division prize, the third biggest win in New Zealand lotteries, was sold at a Four Square in Thames but remained unclaimed until the man, who wishes to remain anonymous, took it into a Lotto shop to get it checked.

"I had absolutely no idea that I'd won anything until I went and got the ticket checked and when it went through the machine the lottery operator gave me the strangest look.

"They took me to another part of the store and told me that I'd won the big one."

The man will get $11,241,184 in cash plus $1,578,940 in prizes, including cars, a holiday home and overseas travel.

"I haven't been sleeping -- all these things keep racing around in my head.

"It's just so much money to win and there's so much to think about," he said.

"I'm going to put it in the bank for a while and think about it, and then decide what I'll do, but family will definitely be the main beneficiary."

The man was not a regular ticket buyer, but got his "act together" prompted by the size of last week's draw.

"I heard about the draw and that that big prize had been won by a ticket sold in Thames, but I had my ticket stuck in the back of my wallet and wasn't in any hurry to get it checked."

The largest ever lotteries win in New Zealand was a Powerball prize of $15.2 million in September 2005, followed by a $14.7 million Powerball win in April 2004.

The non-cash prizes included:

* a Porsche 911 Carrera
* a Range Rover Vogue V8
* $50,000 worth of luxury travel every year for five years
* $250,000 on an American Express Platinum card
* a Mustang luxury launch and a $500,000 holiday home

- NZPA