374 New Zealanders have become millionaires overnight in the past ten years. Photo / Stephen Parker
One winner was handed a piece of paper by the Lotto lady with "$20.2 million" written on it.
Another jumped up and ran around the house yelling "we've won Powerball".
One person thought they'd better go to the gym before checking their ticket because there wasn't a chance they'd exercise if they happened to be the winner.
And one yelled "holy ****!" so loudly, his boss thought he'd cut off his arm with a chainsaw.
But perhaps our most famous big winner, Te Kauwhata man Trevor Cooper, needed to borrow $50 to get up to Auckland to show his mum the golden ticket. He needed a 4am bath to calm down.
"At 5am, I was up and ... thinking, 'Hell, I'm $26-and-a-half million richer today.' It was crazy.
"To be honest with you, it's insane."
Over the past decade, 374 Kiwis have become millionaires after winning the jackpot and collectively Lotto players have won almost $4 billion.
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But among those cheering at beating the odds, there is harm with at least 11,120 seeking help for problem gambling with Lotto products since 2004.
Those gripping their Lotto tickets on a Saturday night at the turn of the decade hoping to win the $1.12 million jackpot, would have been scanning the lines for the winning numbers of 13, 21, 23, 25, 34, 39 - 09.
Two lucky people won first division that night and started this decade suddenly half a million dollars richer.
And since then, a lucky 13 Kiwis have won more than $20 million each.
The young couple from the Hibiscus Coast had been "busting their guts" to buy their first home when they stopped by a dairy to get their regular ticket.
But that weekend, they won the biggest ever Lotto prize - $44 million.
"As soon as I saw I had all the numbers on one line I just yelled 'holy ****!' - my boss thought I'd chopped my arm off with a saw," the man told the Herald at the time.
Meanwhile, syndicate player Tina was calm when her numbers came up because she knew they were "always going to win".
She had been playing with nine other women since 2012 and five years later it paid off - they all woke up one Sunday $3.025 million richer.
Tina told the Herald last year that "none of them have gone stupid over the money", though all have retired.
"It's a lovely amount of money but you can certainly whittle away at that if you go out and buy big ticket items," Tina said.
Last year, the winner of a $20.2 million jackpot kept their lucky ticket unwittingly tucked in their wallet for days before they checked if they'd won.
"It was fun to dream for a while.
"Eventually I went back to the store to check my ticket, I had a bit of a knot in my stomach when I handed it over — I guess I was hoping it could be me.
"The Lotto lady handed me a piece of paper that said '$20.2 million' on it – it was a huge sense of relief."
That winner ended up giving most of it away to friends and family, though has also put some of it in investments and houses.
"To be able to take away someone's mortgage is the best feeling in the world."
And becoming $20 million richer overnight has meant they're able to visit a new country every month, though Australia remains one of their favourites.
"To have the freedom to be able to look at places all around the world and just go there when you want is a huge thrill," they said.
But it's not without its challenges. Early retirement isn't all blue skies for the $20 million winner.
"It's all good being able to do what you want when you want, but when all of your mates are at work it can be difficult at times."
The winner of a $12.3 million Powerball jackpot in 2015 has also made travelling their biggest indulgence since joining the millionaires' club.
After winning, she and her husband went on a luxury weekend to Singapore - complete with business class seats.
She's also bought a lot of shoes.
"Winning has opened so many doors for us.
"We have been able to help out those closest to us and we can now live where we want to, rather than where we need to for work.
"It's a pretty amazing feeling to know that you don't have to worry about money again. Life has not changed too much for us.
"The best thing about winning Powerball is the freedom we have now. We don't need to think about, can we afford that?
"I have more pairs of shoes now than before I won. I love buying shoes."
At the turn of the decade, your chances of winning were the same as they are today.
Your odds of taking home the first division with a $7 ticket are one in 383,838 - but you're more likely to be struck by lightning, with a one in 280,000 chance in a year.
Meanwhile, the odds of being killed in a car crash is one in 11,000.
And the chance of winning the Powerball is even less likely with each line on your ticket giving you a one in 38 million chance.
But for all those who've won, there are some for which Lotto causes harm - especially when the big jackpots roll round.
Problem Gambling Foundation spokeswoman Andree Froude said while Lotto tickets aren't as problematic as other forms of gambling, it was still harmful for those who couldn't help but buy tickets over putting food on the table.
Ministry of Health data shows that since the 2004/2005 financial year at more than 11,120 people have sought help for the first time because of Lotto products.
These figures include scratchies, which Froude says are more harmful because players can win instantly.
Froude said Lotto tickets "normalise" gambling through their easy accessibility at everyday places like supermarkets and because of the Lottery Commission's "aggressive" marketing.
Warning signs that someone has stopped playing Lotto for fun and it is causing harm include missing out on basic items like fruit or milk, missing savings targets or repayments and hiding playing Lotto from others.
A spokeswoman for Lotto said it had a statutory obligation to minimise harm from its games and responsible gaming underpinned everything it did.
Overall, the commission's spend on advertising was less than 1 per cent of its total revenue and the spokeswoman said it ensured its "advertising meets a high-standard of social responsibility".
At the time this was the largest amount won by a single player in Lotto NZ history. The winner bought their ticket at One Step Ahead in Ponsonby, Auckland, and played using their own numbers. They played every week before the big win.
How did you find out and what was your reaction?
"I bought a couple of tickets from different places ... and when I heard it was still unclaimed, I thought, 'you know, it could be me'.
"But I still went straight to the gym before checking my tickets.
"I thought, 'well if I've just won $33 million I might not be able to concentrate on getting my exercise done afterwards', I guess I didn't really think it would be me.
"I had a couple of tickets and when I checked the first one, it won $33 and I thought 'that's pretty good, it's not $33 million, but it's pretty good'.
"Then I checked the numbers on the other ticket and pretty quickly saw that I had most of the numbers. It was unbelievable."
How has your life changed?
"We have young kids so it was important that we still live a normal life with them going to school and so on.
"I think the biggest difference now is we don't worry about money anymore.
"Winning Powerball has taken away all of those worries and anxiety and we can get on with enjoying life.
"I work from home now and I love the freedom this brings, but it is not as social as a workplace.
"We still have the same strong work ethic, the same morals and values so I also volunteer a lot these days for various associations.
What has been your biggest purchase?
"We were looking at buying a new house around the time we won, so winning gave us the chance to go ahead with that purchase.
"We still love supporting charities, but the most rewarding part has been being able to help our family and friends and reduce stress in their lives.
What have been some of the challenges?
"It can be quite overwhelming at first.
"At the beginning you have a huge rush of adrenalin, the happiness and the anxiety and doubt that comes with a huge moment like winning Powerball.
"You ask yourself 'who should I tell?' 'How much do I give people?' There are a lot of questions.
"You need to take some time to figure it all out and take one step at a time. You need to remind yourself of what's most important to you and those you love.
What advice do you have for others who have won Powerball?
"The best advice I can offer is to take your time.
"Get in touch with bankers, accountants to offer you financial advice and a plan for the money and talk to a lawyer.
"They are professionals and they deal with this sort of situation all the time. Ask them as many questions as you can, to get all the information you need to handle it.
"Their help is invaluable. We have kept life pretty simple. We are the same people and we still love doing things together as a family like trips to the beach."
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