Six Ashburton work colleagues will each be more than $33,000 richer this Christmas thanks to winning Lotto.
The First Division Lotto win from Ashburton New World last week kicked off a double score in Mid Canterbury, as a Winning Wheel ticket win went to a lucky Rakaia Mobil customer from Saturday night's draw.
Ashburton New World store manager Devin Young said yesterday the First Division $200,000 ticket for last week's Lotto draw was claimed on Friday.
The ticket had been bought by a long-running six-member syndicate of Ashburton work colleagues, and it was claimed by one of the members when she came in to the store.
Mr Young understood the woman had not known the ticket was a winning one before she had it checked in the store. Each syndicate member had alternated buying the ticket each week, and it had been her turn to buy the ticket and have it checked.
He said he was in the store at the time, and while the woman would obviously have been happy to have found out the ticket was a winning one, there was no shouting or screaming.
"I didn't hear any commotion," Mr Young said.
"It's good it's gone to local people, we do get a lot of people passing by, it's good that local people have won it. It's a nice present for Christmas," he said.
"They have been in the syndicate for a while now, they deserve it you could say, they have been together for as long as I know."
Meanwhile, Rakaia Mobil owner Rayleen Burrowes said yesterday it was exciting to see the store named as that from which the Winning Wheel ticket was sold on Saturday night.
"It's wonderful news. We have sold lots of winning tickets but we haven't had a Winning Wheel," Mrs Burrowes said.
Winning tickets sold in the past had been for prizes up to about $30,000.
She had not heard who might be the lucky ticket holder. The store, on State Highway 1, sold many tickets to people travelling through, but she hoped it was a local.
A Lotto spokesperson said yesterday the Winning Wheel prize had not yet been claimed.
The Winning Wheel prize winner will spin the Winning Wheel live on the Lotto televised draw in about six to eight weeks time.
