$16.3m Lotto win celebrated with $30 meal and few beers

Photo / Hawke's Bay Today

A "hard working family man" from Cambridge has celebrated a $16.3 million lottery win with a $30 takeaway meal and a few beers for his family, says New Zealand Lotteries.

The winner of Saturday's $16.3 million Lotto Powerball claimed the prize today.

The shocked man, who wished to remain anonymous, celebrated his multi-million dollar windfall by splashing out on a $30 takeaway for family members and a few beers, NZ Lotteries said in a statement.

The winning ticket was purchased at Countdown in the Waikato town of Cambridge, and is worth a total of $16,352,565 with $16,136,286 from Powerball First Division and $216,279 from Lotto First Division.

The man popped into Countdown on Saturday in order to pick up a few things to make a roast dinner for his family that night.

"I normally always take my own numbers, and have done for 20 years, but this time I tried something different and bought a lucky dip.

"It was while we were sitting at the table on Sunday morning that we heard on the radio that the big prize had gone to Countdown Cambridge. So we checked the tickets on the internet. The very first line on my ticket matched the winning numbers.

"I said `Holy crap'. It was the most surreal feeling. I kept thinking that I was in a dream and that I was going to wake up," he said.

The man said he planned to share his good fortune with his family and he "might even retire".

Meanwhile, a man, made redundant from his job last week, has claimed his Lotto First Division $216,279 prize from NZ Lotteries.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, bought the ticket from Raumati South Four Square on the Kapiti Coast.

"Like many families, we have a mortgage, so we have been worried about how we are going to cope financially," he said.

"We were just planning this morning what creative things we could do with mince for tonight's dinner. But the mince can stay in the fridge now as we are going out for a nice dinner on Lotto.

"We may have been just three numbers off the right Powerball but this win has solved all our problems."

- NZPA