Lotto Powerball: Lucky player takes home $5 million Christmas jackpot

One lucky Lotto player has received the ultimate last-minute Christmas present after winning $5.3 million in tonight’s Lotto Powerball jackpot.

The Auckland victor bought their ticket on MyLotto and won $5 million from Powerball First Division and $333,333 from Lotto First Division.

The winning numbers were 31, 15, 18, 29, 6, and 13. The Bonus Ball was 26 and the Powerball was 2.

Two other players will also be celebrating after winning $333,333 with Lotto First Division in tonight’s live draw.

The winning tickets were sold at Ōpōtiki Pharmacy in Ōpōtiki and on MyLotto to a player from Tauranga.

Strike Four rolled over to be $500,000 on Saturday night.

Anyone who bought their ticket from Ōpōtiki Pharmacy or on MyLotto is asked to check their ticket as soon as possible, Lotto said.

Tonight’s draw was part of what Lotto is describing as its “biggest Christmas ever” with $6m in extra prizes to be won this promotion period.

There’s one prize of $1m and 100 prizes of $50,000 up for grabs and all Triple Dip tickets bought between Sunday, December 8, and 7.30pm on Saturday, December 28, will be in the draw with a chance to win.

It comes less than two weeks after a New Plymouth player won more than $23m in the fifth-largest prize of the year.

Four months ago, another lucky Aucklander equalled the biggest single-player prize in New Zealand Lotto history, winning $44m.

The total prize they won from the ticket bought on MyLotto was $44,066,667, which included a one-15th share of the Division One prize.

The jackpot on offer in tonight's Lotto Christmas draw was $5 million.

Meanwhile, in June, a record $50m Powerball jackpot was split between seven people, netting them each $7.1m.

It took almost a month for the final winner to come forward and collect their portion of the winnings.

Lotto NZ said it took responsible gambling seriously and reminded customers gifting its products as presents over the Christmas period to only give them to adults.

What to do if you win

Ticketholders can see immediately if they have won if they purchased a ticket through MyLotto. Prizes of $1000 or less are automatically credited to the account.

For prizes of more than $1000, winners have to fill in an online prize form.

Results are available immediately after the live draws on TVNZ 1, which take place on Wednesday and Saturday nights.

They can also be found through the MyLotto app, online at www.mylotto.co.nz, at Lotto NZ retailers and on nzherald.co.nz.

Winners with a physical ticket must still visit a Lotto retailer to claim their prize.

For the Powerball jackpot to be claimed, a ticket holder must get all six Lotto numbers correct as well as the added Powerball number.

If the jackpot is not claimed, it will roll over each draw until it is won, or reaches the must-be-won limit.

If more than one person wins Powerball, the jackpot is shared equally between the winning tickets.

A total of 22 punters have now struck the jackpot in 2024 and been crowned multimillionaires.

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