By DANIEL JACKSON and NZPA
A cheque for $8.2 million was written out yesterday after the Lotto Powerball jackpot winner turned up in Wellington to claim the fortune.
The lucky winner is adamant that no clues be given that might lead to identification, so the Lotteries Commission will not say whether it is a man or a woman, how old he or she is and what he/she does for a job.
Marketing manager Philip Poole said the winner arrived at the commission's head office in Wellington yesterday afternoon with the ticket taped to his or her chest.
The person was "very happy, very elated and slightly apprehensive as well."
Mr Poole said the winning ticket, with the six winning Lotto numbers and the winning Powerball number, was a $10 Powerdip.
The winner had chosen 3 as the Powerball number.
Mr Poole said the winner, who bought the ticket at a suburban service station in Whangarei, knew nothing of the win until checking the numbers in the newspaper.
But the news was not all good for the Lotteries Commission yesterday after it revealed it may have fallen $31.9 million short of reaching last year's sales target.
The commission told Parliament in its statement of corporate intent that estimated sales for 2000/01 were 5.1 per cent below budget, at $593.1 million.
It blamed the bad result on continuing fallout from the 1999 controversy over the then-chief executive's $410,000-plus salary, increased competition and the need to renew its products.
"We have been urgently working on a number of these issues but the results of this work will not pay off in the current financial year," the report says.
"Changes in brand perception and product diversification have long lead times and the full benefits may take some years to come on stream."
The commission also failed last year to keep spending below $42.2 million as it intended.
"In order to maintain and develop its key revenue streams into the future, the commission has had to incur additional expenditure of around $6.1 million above budget for the year.
"This extra expenditure has been devoted to refreshing Lotto advertising, launching a new jackpotting Powerball game, developing a new game show and continuing our sponsorship of Team New Zealand's defence of the America's Cup."
These "investments" would produce benefits in coming years.
Jackpot ticket taped to chest
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