There was speculation the winner could be on holiday or may not have seen coverage of the jackpot. Photo / File
There was speculation the winner could be on holiday or may not have seen coverage of the jackpot. Photo / File
The mystery winners of a $16.2 million Lotto Powerball jackpot have finally claimed the prize, more than a week after they won it.
The Hamilton couple, who have not been identified, had not checked their ticket and had no idea they had won until friends joked about the possibility.
"Iwas out for lunch with a couple of mates when one of them mentioned the big Powerball win," the man said. "I hadn't even heard the jackpot had been won until then."
"When I mentioned it they joked, 'Are you the winner?'. I just laughed and said 'there's no way it could be me - I haven't even looked at my ticket!'."
When the man got home he finally checked the ticket.
"I circled the numbers off one by one, and slowly realised that I had all the winning numbers on the same line. I was absolutely stunned - I just couldn't believe it."
As soon as they could, the couple then drove from Hamilton to collect their winnings from Lotto New Zealand's head office in Auckland - making sure to keep their ticket close at all times.
The couple had a celebratory champagne lunch at one of Auckland's top restaurants with family but said for now they have no idea how they will spend the money.
"But we've got the rest of our lives to work that out."
The $16.2 million prize is the 11th largest Powerball prize ever won and the third largest Powerball prize won this year.
As the largest prize ever won in Hamilton, the city has been abuzz with excitement since news of the big win broke more than a week ago.
Until the money was claimed, the winners were missing out on $2000 a day in interest.
