Third-time lucky for must win Powerball

Photo / Michael Craig

Lotto Powerball has jackpotted to $32 million thanks to huge sales for the must-win draw adding to the pot.

Powerball has now hit its first division threshold of $32 million - for the third time in the game's history - after Saturday night's $28 million draw was not struck.

New Zealand Lotteries corporate communications manager Emilia Mazur said the first division prize pool would probably increase as more punters would be lining up for tickets.

In fact, the sales have been so strong that Lotto NZ bumped the prize by $2 million after it started at $30 million this week.

"In a big jackpot week like this one we expect an increase in ticket sales of about 500,000 above what we would consider a low jackpot month," she said.

Ms Mazur said the last time this happened was in 2011 when Powerball reached its second $30 million jackpot, which climbed to $35 million because of extra sales.

Two winners from Dannevirke and Hamilton each banked $17.6 million.

In a big week for lotto players, Big Wednesday jackpotted to $22 million plus all the prizes, but was won by a Christchurch ticket.

A lotto survey last year showed 31 per cent of winners told their immediate family while 19 per cent told their partner and no-one else. Seventy-three per cent of winning tickets are lucky dip tickets. The survey showed that 41 per cent of winners believed they would strike the big one at some point.