Lotto bonanza! Auckland shop owner who sold winning Powerball ticket hopes winner will visit the store

Saturday's winning ticket was purchased from Meg Star news agency in Henderson. Photo / File

The owner of the news agency which sold last night's winning Powerball ticket hopes the winner, who is today $28 million richer, will go to the store to check it.

The winning ticket was bought from Meg Star in Henderson, West Auckland.

Owner Pinal Patel said a previous owner of another news agency shop called her last night to tell her the news.

"I just couldn't believe it; it was a big shock," said Patel.

The lucky single winner will collect $28,166,667, which includes a one-sixth share of Lotto Division 1 - the other five players not having that lucky Powerball number will collect $166,667.

Last night's winning Lotto numbers were: 2, 5, 11, 20, 23, and 25.

The Bonus Ball was 35, and the Powerball was 4.

Patel, who was very excited, said she was planning a celebration for her staff.

This was the first big win for her shop, they have previously sold second division winning tickets.

"I'm excited and waiting for the winner to come in, I'm not too sure if they're going to come or not but hopefully," said Patel.

The five other Lotto Division 1 winning tickets were purchased from Four Square in Kaiwaka, Halfway Store in Whakatane, Countdown Dunedin, and two on MyLotto by Auckland players.

Strike Four numbers came in this order: 25, 23, 5 then 11.

A single Strike Four player has won $500,000 for having the first four numbers drawn in the correct order.

That ticket was bought from Rathgar Rd Discount Foodmart in Auckland.

Last week it was revealed a Lotto ticket worth $8.25m was sold at the Matamata Paper Plus, with Matamata-Piako Mayor Ash Tanner saying the win came after a $4.5m Lotto ticket was sold in Te Aroha at the start of the year.

"We just need Morrinsville now and we will be away," Tanner said.

While last night's Powerball jackpot is much chunkier change, the $28m bonanza is well down the list of biggest wins.

The largest Powerball prize in New Zealand was $44m, won by a young couple from Hibiscus Coast, in northern Auckland, five years ago.

Just over the southern border of the city, a Pōkeno family last year snagged $42m, while nine years ago - when millions in the bank could buy a lot more Kiwi houses than now - a ticket bought in Auckland snared $33m.

Other big wins included $30m from a Taupō-bought ticket in 2017 and $28m from a Papakura-bought ticket in 2010.

In 2020 a $50m must-win Powerball jackpot was split equally between 10 Powerball second division winners, after there were no first division winners.