The car and overseas travel are a given - but whoever wins tonight's $23 million Lotto Powerball draw is just as likely to celebrate with a trip to the dentist.
The combined prize from Powerball and Lotto will be the third largest awarded in New Zealand if won by a single person.
NZ Lotteries Commission spokeswoman Karen Jones said, although a nice meal out or travel topped many past winners' lists, a surprising number of winners booked in for dental work.
"You'd be amazed by the number of lottery winners who say, 'I can finally afford to get my teeth fixed' ... For many people the thousands of dollars needed to get their teeth fixed is out of reach."
A 2008 survey of first division winners revealed cliches were just that when it came to how prize money was spent.
Fertility treatment, a fish smoker, a "big shed", $200 worth of lavender, a fridge too big for the kitchen, gastric bypass surgery, bagpipes, a land yacht and a stainless steel pedal bin were all on the shopping lists.
Bigger purchases included a restaurant and the next door neighbour's property.
Another winner took a holiday to go buffalo hunting in Australia, and one said his wife treated herself to a pair of Prada shoes - "but they gave her blisters and she's never worn them again".
In another survey of 100 big Lotto winners in 2010, reactions were equally varied when they were asked what was the wildest thing done after winning.
Had a beer, kept working six days a week, bought a PlayStation, had a big feed of fish and chips, got drunk and used the mini bar in a hotel were the more feet-on-the-ground responses.
A rugby fan toured South Africa and watched the All Blacks play the Springboks; another took a weekend trip to the United Kingdom to watch Manchester United play Liverpool.
- Nicholas Jones
