A Rotorua Lotto player walked into his local dairy this afternoon with no idea he was $24 million richer.
The lucky punter struck it big last night, winning a $24.3m jackpot. About 4pm he turned up at the Springfield Superette.
"The person went and checked the ticket, realised it was a huge amount and asked if it was correct," said superette owner Rajesh Kumar, who came to work on his day off in case the winner came in.
Mr Kumar said the man had bought Lotto tickets from him for the 16 years he had owned the superette.
When he realised the man was a winner, he temporarily shut the shop to give the new millionaire - a long-time customer - some privacy.
"He just had a soft drink, just to calm the nerves," Mr Kumar said.
"They couldn't believe it. He seemed composed, but I don't think it had sunk in because it takes time.
"I tell you what it's still sinking in for me as well. It's so amazing. That's our job, our job is to sell tickets.
"[The winner is] very much a Kiwi person at heart, a genuine sort of person, very humble. He's always been polite, never had any issues. [He] just always comes in to get stuff.
"The wife, family, kids, the grand kids come in. They're always very polite, the whole family. They're very faithful and loyal to me."
Mr Kumar said he'd put the man's claim through to Lotto NZ.
"Hopefully in the next couple of days, the [winner] gets $24.3 million in their account."
The winner, who normally plays powerball, this week bought an $18 ticket.
It's not the first big-winning ticket Mr Kumar has sold. He recalled a million dollar one about 3 and a half years ago, not long after he'd sold a $50,000 winning scratchie.
Five years ago he'd also put through a claim for a $16m winner, but didn't sell that ticket.
"I've seen some big ones come in here. They were locals as well."
The $24.3m is made up of $23.8m from powerball first division and $500,000 from Lotto first division.
On a whopping night for Lotto punters, best friends Margaret and Edith from Auckland took home $1m after spinning Lotto's Winning Wheel.
Earlier, Mr Kumar was stunned to hear he had sold the $24m winning ticket.
"This is a big buzz. We've sold tickets for big amounts before - we've sold $1m before - but to have sold $24m is amazing," he told the Herald on Sunday.
"I always dreamed about selling something this big. That'll be a blast for whoever wins it. This is a tough year and I think anybody could do with money."
He imagined it would be the talk of the town today, and he was "stoked" that his store would be at the centre of it.
Oppies Fish & Chips owner Michael Huang was thrilled to hear a local had won big.
"I haven't heard of that happening around here before - it's great news for our little community," he said.
"I'm going to go and check my Lotto ticket now."
Rotorua Deputy Mayor Dave Donaldson was stunned by the win and said the lucky recipient would find it hard to keep the news quiet.
"$24 million? Is that right? Well, it certainly isn't me," he said.
"I guess it would all depend on how they spent it, but crumbs, if they started spending that kind of money in Rotorua, it would be pretty hard to hide who it was.
"Having said that, if they were to spend the money here, it would be a fantastic boost for the local economy."
It's the seventh time this year that a lucky player has scooped the top Powerball prize. In late March, a Lotto player from Auckland won $9.1m and decided to spend some of their winnings on "random acts of kindness".
In August 2014, a Christchurch man won a $14.3m Powerball prize and called his boss to say "I quit".
He then excitedly told an airport security guard and other passengers getting on his plane about the massive windfall before flying to Auckland to present his ticket.
In April 2012, supermarket worker Trevor Cooper scooped a $27m Lotto win.
He has since invested heavily in real estate and has been chasing his motorsport dream, racing karts, speedway and off-road racers in the US.
In October 2010, a pig-hunting Papakura father won $28.7m via Lotto Powerball.
- Herald on Sunday
