“At all times, Lotto NZ encourages our customers to play a little, dream a lot. We know high jackpots can be exciting but remember – it takes only one ticket to win,” a statement from Lotto NZ read.
The whopping prize pool has been rising since the last Powerball win on June 19, with the jackpot continually going unstuck and rolling over to the next draw.
If anyone should strike the correct numbers on Saturday, they will join 13 other Powerball multimillionaires created this year.
The biggest total prize of 2024 was struck on June 8, when a $50m must-be-won draw was shared between seven winning ticketholders who each took home $7.18m.
While two of those winners had claimed their share of the first prize by the next day, it took seven weeks for the final winner to come forward and collect their portion of the winnings.
One of the children of a winning couple, who wished to remain anonymous, said the family had a meeting to share the happy news.
“They’ve slowly been doing bits on the house, and now they can afford to finish the renovations,” the child said about the winning parents.
“We really want them to do something for themselves, though. They’ve been talking about a special overseas trip for a long time and now they can do that. It will be amazing for them,” said another of the children.
The next largest prize of the year was won on April 13, with a player in Wellington pocketing $30.16m.
Other Powerball jackpots won since then include $4.5m, won by a MyLotto player in Waikato on June 12 and $5.5m won on June 19 by a physical ticket bought in Waitara.
What to do if you win
Ticket holders 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 over $1000, winners have to fill in an online prize form.
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 tonight, it will roll over each draw until it is won.
The longest Powerball jackpot run in Lotto NZ history before it was struck was 24 consecutive draws.
If more than one person wins Powerball, the jackpot is shared equally between the winning tickets.
13 Lotto Powerball multimillionaires crowned in 2024:
- January 27: $17.25 million - My Lotto, Canterbury
- February 10: $8.3 million - MyLotto, Hawke’s Bay
- March 2: $12.3 million - MyLotto, Otago
- April 13: $30.16 million - MyLotto, Wellington
- June 8: $7.18 million - Pak’nSave Wairau Rd, Auckland
- June 8: $7.18 million - Woolworths Metro, Auckland
- June 8: $7.18 million - Royal Oak Mall Lotto, Auckland
- June 8: $7.18 million - MyLotto, Auckland
- June 8: $7.18 million - MyLotto, Auckland
- June 8: $7.18 million - Shop Rite Dairy, Hamilton
- June 8: $7.18 million - New World Hastings, Hastings
- June 12: $4.5 million - MyLotto, Waikato
- June 19: $5.5 million - Impulse Snacks & Lotto, Taranaki
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
