A single ticket purchased from Springfield Superette snared last night's $24.3m jackpot, made up of $23,800,822 from Powerball first division and $500,000 from first division.
Superette owner Raj Kumar was stunned to hear he had sold the $24m winning ticket.
"This is a big buzz. We've sold tickets for big amounts before - we've sold $1m before - but to have sold $24m is amazing," he said.
Raj Kumar at Springfield Superette sold the $23 million Powerball ticket in Rotorua. Photo / Daily Post
"I always dreamed about selling something this big. That'll be a blast for whoever wins it. This is a tough year and I think anybody could do with money."
He said he imagined it would be the talk of the town today, and he was "stoked" his store would be at the centre of it.
Rotorua Deputy Mayor Dave Donaldson was stunned by the win and said the lucky recipient would find it hard to keep the news quiet.
"$24 million? Is that right? Well, it certainly isn't me," he said.
"I guess it would all depend on how they spent it, but crumbs, if they started spending that kind of money in Rotorua, it would be pretty hard to hide who it was.
"Having said that, if they were to spend the money here, it would be a fantastic boost for the local economy."
