A couple from Taupo unwrapped a very generous present this Christmas when a Lotto ticket they received as a gift won them $1 million with Lotto First Division.
The winners had three tickets for Saturday's Lotto draw - two they had purchased themselves and one sent to them for Christmas by a relative in Tauranga.
"I'd been having a pretty bad day, so decided to sit down on Sunday evening and check our tickets in the hopes that might make the day a little brighter," one of the winners said.
"I checked the two we'd bought first - no luck. Then I checked the ticket a relative sent us for Christmas. When I realised we had all the numbers I gasped and checked the line again... and again, and again. Then ran outside to find my husband.
"Neither of us could believe it - a million dollars! We were a bag of nerves for the rest of the evening.
"Since we couldn't think straight we knew cooking dinner wasn't an option - so we celebrated the win with fish 'n chips!" laughed the winner.
The winners, who wish to remain anonymous, can't wait to tell the relative who gave them the winning ticket the good news.
"We're going to go up and visit them in the New Year to let them know just how generous the gift was - it's going to be so special. I can't wait to see the look on his face when we break the news!"
While the winners are still deciding how they will spend the money, they're certain some of the winnings will make it back to their relative.
"We're definitely going to use some of the money to help him out - what better way to say thank you than by paying off his mortgage?"
The winning ticket was sold at Bayfair Lotto in Mount Maunganui.
