Tonight's $42 million Lotto Powerball jackpot will shoot to a record must-win $50 million this Saturday after no one won the mammoth prize.
The numbers were: 30, 8, 2, 33, 21,3.
The bonus number was 13 and the Powerball was 6.
Six punters won first division - and $166,667 each - but none had the Powerball.
The winning First Division tickets were sold at:
Four Square Coopers Beach, Northland; Countdown Mt Eden, Auckland; Trafalgar Lotto, Whanganui; Online in Wellington; Nelson City New World and New World Centre City, Dunedin.
Lotto's website was struggling to keep up with demand as punters checked their tickets.
Punters came out in droves to buy last-minute tickets ahead of tonight's draw, with queues snaking through the door of one Auckland dairy.
If the behemoth prize isn't struck, it will roll over to this Saturday, with a few more million likely sprinkled in.
Tonight's possible win was just $2m shy of New Zealand's biggest ever win, with $44m won by a young Hibiscus Coast couple in November 2016.
And if the winner squirrels away those multi-millions in the bank, they could be living off a yearly income of $844,000.
READ MORE:
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• Lotto Powerball: $19m winner buys dream home but still driving same $2000 car
If tonight's $42 million prize was invested in the bank with 3 per cent interest, it could earn a whopping $1,260,000 in interest each year.
With more than one million tickets sold ahead of tonight's draw, you might assume your chances of hitting the jackpot become slimmer with every ticket sale.
But, as University of Otago statistician Dr Matthew Parry earlier told the Herald, you'd be wrong to think so.
"The probability of winning doesn't change, that's always fixed no matter how many people are playing in the lottery," he said.
"It just depends on the numbers that come out [but the] more people play, more people are likely to win so, therefore, your payout slightly gets smaller."
But with your chances of winning Powerball are still slim - at around one in 38 million.
Last week, heavy traffic to the My Lotto website just before the draw caused trouble for players checking in to see if they'd struck gold.
The My Lotto website warned of potential problems accessing the site.
A visit to a special room complete with chocolate, champagne and tissues, at Lotto's head office in Auckland awaits the lucky winner.
They'll also receive a book full of tips of how to handle the life-changing win.
"The decision about what you do with your winnings is entirely yours - you will shape your future," the 60-page book states.
"We hope this booklet helps you to understand the steps ahead of you, make your goals easier to reach and, of course, enjoy your winnings!
"We wish you all the best for the future, and hope you'll look back on the day you found out you were a winner as one of the happiest days of your life."
But tomorrow is not the day to start spending newfound millions, Lotto winners are warned.
Craig Offwood from ANZ's Private Bank team told The Herald the moments after striking gold were "definitely not" the time to make any rash decisions.
"From our experience, it's clear what winners do with their prize has a huge impact on the rest of their lives."
Seeking professional advice was an important step in the days after people came into a significant amount of money, Offwood said.
"Many people will inherit money at some point in their life, and although the sum may be less than a Lotto jackpot, the challenge is always the same," he said.
"Over the years, we have seen some great success stories. Equally, there have been some cases where they have squandered their jackpot.
"After failing to heed advice, they have gone on a spending spree with the unfortunate belief the winnings would last forever.
"The last thing you want is to find yourself with no money in 10 years' time."
However they'll likely have enough to splurge on a set of bagpipes, a gastric bypass, Prada shoes, or whatever takes their fancy, in the vein of past Lotto winners.
According the Winners' Book, most Powerball winners splashed on a new house, paid off mortgages, helped family members travelled overseas and donated to charity.
But for others, professional tattoos, face lifts, fertility treatment and even a buffalo-hunting trip fit the bill.
Two lucky Powerball winners won $19.1m each in October last year, sharing the same ticket numbers for a $38m draw.
Four months on, one of the pair has just bought their dream house, even if she still drives the same $2000 car from before her days as a multi-millionaire.
"We've always dreamt of owning our own home and now it's a reality – though it's still quite hard to believe."
Both winners of the $38m draw told the future Powerball winner to keep things simple.
"My top piece of advice is to take your time, make sure you have a solid plan in place, and you have a financial adviser that you're comfortable with," one said.
• Think before you spend: It's best to spend some time to think about your win and what you really want to do with the money before you start forking out;
• Secrecy: Be really careful who you decide to tell about your good fortune;
• Financial advice: Getting help from a professional, they know what they're up to;
• Have fun: It's important to remember to take time to do the things you've always wanted to do for fun, once you've locked in funds for the future.
He was caught trying to trade gift vouchers for sex with a 14yo, police say.