'Stunned' Lotto winner thought numbers were wrong

A "stunned" South Island family is taking things one step at a time after claiming its $10.6 million lottery prize package.

The winning ticket in last week's Big Wednesday draw was sold in the small West Coast town of Reefton, 79km northeast of Greymouth, but was officially claimed at a retail store in Christchurch.

NZ Lotteries chief executive Todd McLeay said the family wished to remain anonymous.

"They're taking things one step at a time, and not dreaming too far ahead .. yet," he said.

The winner said he checked the ticket early Thursday but thought he got the numbers wrong.

"I thought it looked like the winning numbers, but figured I must have got it wrong so just put it aside until I could check it properly later. My wife was still asleep so I didn't say anything to her," he said.

"It wasn't until I heard later on during the day that the prize had gone to a ticket sold in Reefton, where I'd bought my ticket, that I realised it was actually me.

"I went home that evening and told my wife - but she wouldn't believe me.

"It wasn't until she'd checked the numbers herself against those on the internet that she finally started to accept it."

The winning ticket was sold at Gizmos on Broadway in Reefton and was the store's first major prize since becoming a Lotto retailer in May.

It is the second multi-million dollar Lotto win in two years for Reefton, which has a population of about 1000.

The town's last big Lotto winner, Harry Wilson, 73, won $6.1 million two years ago.

- NZPA