Lotto Powerball winner: Auckland couple scoop $8.5m prize

An Auckland couple were lying in bed on Sunday morning when they realised they had scooped the $8.5 million Lotto prize.

The pair then jumped out of bed and started dancing - accompanied by their confused dog.

"We were lying in bed on Sunday morning when I checked my emails and saw one from Lotto NZ saying I had a prize to claim on MyLotto. I'd never received an email like that before, so immediately turned to my wife and asked her to have a look," said the man.

"She took one look at the email and immediately started buzzing – she kept saying 'check it, check it, check it'. So we jumped out of bed and raced to the living room, grabbed the laptop and pulled up MyLotto.

"We sat together and watched our ticket get checked – there was one number, then another, then another… and before we knew what was going on, every number on the line was circled.

"That's when I saw the prize amount staring back at me - $8,500,000! I looked at my wife and she looked at me – then we both jumped up started hugging and dancing, with our dog jumping around our feet.

"He had no idea what was going on, but could tell there was something to be excited about."

The couple said they always buy a ticket, to give themselves the "space to talk and dream about what you'd do" - but they can now make those dreams a reality.

Saying that the win still felt "surreal" the man said that a boat and a business-class overseas trip were already on the wish-list, but added they also want to make sure their winnings set themselves up for the future.

"We feel so incredibly lucky and are so excited for what's ahead," he said.

This is the fourth time that Powerball's First Division prize has been struck this year, and the third time it has been landed in Auckland.

Despite the big wins for Auckland in 2022, Lotto NZ revealed earlier this year that the Waikato district claimed the title of "luckiest" area for winning in its games in 2021.

The district was pushed to the top of the "lucky" list after a family in Pōkeno won $42.2m in October – the second-largest prize ever won in Lotto NZ's 34-year history.

The whopping prize meant that, on average, Waikato locals won $842.19 per capita – over $100 more than the second luckiest region.