Lotto's 2000th live draw celebration. Video / Lotto
Oamaru is buzzing after the buyer of a Lotto ticket at a local supermarket won $18.25 million in the Boxing Day jackpot.
But one question remains: whether the winner was a local or someone passing through.
The winner, who netted a breathtaking $18m from Powerball and another $250,000 from a quarter share of the $1million First Division prize on Saturday night, bought their ticket from New World Waitaki.
Store owner Greg Flannery said there was a buzz among staff, customers and the town, and the store was certainly getting a little more attention than usual yesterday.
"Customers have been excited and asking plenty of questions about it. The staff are really excited to think the store sold a ticket of that magnitude."
The chances of winning Powerball are slim at one in 38 million and you are actually more likely to be struck by lightning walking home - that's one in 280,000.
New World Waitaki Lotto counter workers (from left) Karen Mullin, Melissa King and Sebastian Ruehorn celebrate the win. Photo / Phil Janssen
To Flannery's knowledge, the store had never sold a ticket with a prize that large, he said.
"As an owner, we used to also own Temuka New World, we have never sold a ticket of this scale."
And while the winner might feel like going on a large spending spree, a personal wealth expert, who has dealt with dozens of Lotto winners in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, says they shouldn't.
Sudden Money And How to Handle It author Nick Crawford thinks the first thing winners should do is to sit on their cash for a few months.
"Don't lock all of the money away but don't do anything major until you get a chance to think about it," he said.
"If you've got a mortgage, then getting rid of that is nearly always a good thing to do because interest rates on term deposits will almost certainly be lower than the interest you pay on your mortgage.
"After that, just wait for a few months until you feel ready to make the next big decisions."
Flannery said while he had not heard any rumours about who the lucky winner might be, a common comment was that people were hoping it was a local and deserving person.
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher. Photo / Logan Church
Also hoping that was the case was Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher.
"If it is in the Waitaki district, it is certainly a nice wee boost for a Waitakian as we finish off this, otherwise, fairly mixed year," he said.
The idea that it was perhaps someone who lived in Oamaru had appeared to excite the community.
Comments circulated on social media, people shared their thoughts on what they would spend the money on, and everyone was waiting with "a lot of interest" to find out if it was someone who lived in the district, Kircher said.
