Lucky Auckland Player Takes Home $23.5 Million Lotto Powerball Prize

Lotto Powerball has paid several multimillion prizes to lucky players in less than two months.

The most impressive one is the massive $23.5 million jackpot scooped during the 18 January draw. It indeed was a lucky Wednesday for the Auckland player, who became the first multimillionaire through Powerball this year.

A few other wins made headlines, as well.

A Central Otago ticket buyer hit $500,000 that same night. Reports from other 2023 draws show another $1 million win, multiple $250,000 wins, and a massive $4.3 million prize.

Best Leftover Change Investment Ever

Auckland’s newest Powerball multimillionaires gave a statement regarding their $23.5 million win. However, the couple wished to remain anonymous and protect their privacy.

Their story began at the supermarket, where they went to get milk and eggs. Some leftover change inspired the gentleman to get a lotto ticket. The winner explained that he would only get one when the jackpot exceeded $20 million.

When the couple returned home, they joked about the ticket and how they would spend their money if they hit the jackpot. Everyone playing Powerball has done the exact same thing at least once.

They didn’t watch the draw, and the man returned to the same store the next day. That’s when he decided to check his ticket and was informed that he’d won a “Major Prize.” Since he wasn’t a regular player, he failed to understand what that meant.

The story unfolded as a fairy tale as the operator informed the customer that the ticket winning the jackpot had been sold at the same store. He went on to confirm the win, and – as luck would have it – the $23.5 million jackpot belonged to him.

He finally called his wife to share the happy news. She didn’t believe him initially, but his tears were the confirmation she needed. They shared the win with their son, who was also reluctant to believe them.

In the aftermath of the events, the couple is still processing everything that has happened and planning how to celebrate the win.

Big Jackpots Always Increase Ticket Traffic

Lotto NZ spokesperson explained that they always see heavy traffic when it comes to ticket purchasing anytime the jackpot goes over $20 million.

Just like they can visit quality casinos online, consumers these days get their tickets through the MyLotto website and mobile app. Sometimes, the increased interest results in issues with the system. Yet, that doesn’t prevent players from getting the desired ticket.

Many consort to driving to the nearest store to enter the draw.

Such a scenario happened for the famous 18 January 2023 draw when the system was down. The issue with the website and mobile app continued even as the numbers were revealed.

Watching the live draw or not, winners got their share of the prizes. In fact, four players got $250,000 each. Their tickets were sold in Auckland (two of them), Nelson, and Wellington.

There’s A Long List of Lotto Powerball Winners

Earlier in 2023, a player from Karaka won $1 million in Lotto’s First Division.

Another massive win of $4.3 million came a few days after the fantastic $23.5 million one.

Sharing a similar experience with the Auckland couple, the Auckland woman went to buy milk and eggs. She used her chance to get a lottery ticket, which ended up winning her the second multimillion Powerball prize of 2023.

There are many other similar happy stories regarding the lottery craze in New Zealand.

Even though the main game odds are 38 million to one, they were good enough for some players.

In September 2017, a lottery syndicate of 10 women scooped a $30 million jackpot. Four years back, in October 2013, a man from Auckland won an even more impressive prize of $33 million. That’s still less than the $36.9 million a Masterson syndicate snatched in 2009.

However, the biggest wins occurred in February and August 2020. Each was worth a colossal $50 million.