Man loses job, wins Lotto in same week

A Lotto win came at the best possible time for a Dunedin man who had just been made redundant. File photo / NZPA

A Dunedin man has lost his job and won more than $350,000 in one week, Lotto promoters say.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, won $361,557 with Lotto Strike on Saturday after learning on Thursday he was being made redundant.

While supermarket shopping, he decided that his usual weekly Lotto ticket purchase would have to be his last for a while.

The man and his wife did not watch the Saturday draw as they were out at an event.

"We did not really enjoy ourselves being out, as we were very down and worried about how we would pay the mortgage."

The man then went online to check the Lotto numbers once they returned home.

"My wife started crying and kept saying that it could not be real, and that I must be checking the wrong numbers.

"We could not sleep that night, and my wife kept reminding me of the Lotto ad where the man loses his winning ticket, so I made sure it was in a safe place."

The man said he enjoyed ringing the bank and arranging to have the mortgage paid off.

"I can now take a bit longer to look around for a new job.

"We also want to give back, and have a couple of favourite charities that we will be making donations to."

- NZPA