His lucky ticket, bought from Te Kuiti Paper Plus, had been scrunched in the glovebox of his car when he decided to check it at his local supermarket this week when picking up some groceries.
"At first I put it under the self-checker and it said 'major prize winner', so I gave it to the Lotto lady and the computer locked up – that's when I first realised that I'd won.
"At that moment, my mind just went blank. I didn't know what to think. It's still hard to believe it's real."
After filling in the paperwork with the "Lotto lady", the winner then made sure the coast was clear before heading home to tell his family the good news.
"My family just took it in their stride when I told them the good news.
"We opened a bottle of wine that I'd grabbed at the supermarket – it was on special," the winner said.
Even with all the zeros now in his bank account, the winner plans to keep working and is facing the enviable task of deciding what to do with his winnings.
"I'm probably just a typical Lotto winner and I'm thinking about a new car, a house and then a holiday.
"I may have already gone for a test drive in my dream car," he said.
The winning ticket was sold at Paper Plus Te Kuiti for the Lotto draw on Saturday 17 February. This is the largest prize ever won in Te Kuiti.
