"I actually didn't know what to think, but I waited until the other customers had gone and I said to the lady behind the counter, 'can you check this please? I think I've won'.
"She put the ticket in the machine and said to me 'do you know how much you've won?' and I said 'no idea'.
"She said, 'you've just won $20 million'.
"The woman behind the Lotto counter was almost more excited than I was."
He decided not to tell anyone, but wasn't able to keep it from his wife for long, he said.
"My wife finished her shopping and saw me behind the Lotto counter. Her first thought was 'what is he complaining about?'," he laughed.
"When she worked out what was going on, she was beside herself. I had to take her home for a stiff glass of wine."
The lucky winner plans to buy a new house, a new car and an international holiday with his newfound millions. But he said he will also try to be sensible.
"It's such a large amount of money and it needs to be managed carefully. But the wife's car is pretty old, so we'll start by upgrading that."
The winning ticket was bought from Countdown Pukekohe for the Big Wednesday draw on September 3. The total prize is made up of $20,048,756 from First Division and $197,319 with Second Division.
It is the 10th largest lottery prize ever won by an individual in the history of Lotto New Zealand.
Top 10 jackpots:
1 - $39.9 million, Big Wednesday, June 2009, Masterton
2 - $33.0 million, Powerball, Sept 2013, Ponsonby, Auckland
3 -$28.7 million, Powerball, Oct 2010, Papakura, Auckland
4 - $27.0 million, Big Wednesday, Sept 2009, Tauranga
5 - $26.6 million, Powerball, March 2012, Te Kauwhata
6 - $26.3 million, Powerball, Feb 2014, CBD, Auckland
7 - $22.6 million, Big Wednesday, Sept 2013, Christchurch
8 - $22.4 million, Powerball, Oct 2009, Manukau
9 - $20.5 million, Powerball, Nov 2012, Invercargill
10 - $20.2 million, Big Wednesday, Sept 2014, Pukekohe, Auckland
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