Auckland couple ‘buzzing’ after $8.5M Powerball win

An Auckland couple are buzzing after winning $8.5 million in Saturday’s Lotto Powerball draw.

The husband and wife, who have asked to remain anonymous, said they were lying in bed on Sunday morning when they received an email from Lotto.

The husband said: “She [his wife] took one look at the email and immediately started buzzing – she kept saying ‘check it, check it, check it’.

“So we jumped out of bed and raced to the living room, grabbed the laptop and pulled up MyLotto. We sat together and watched our ticket get checked – there was one number, then another, then another… and before we knew what was going on, every number on the line was circled.

“That’s when I saw the prize amount staring back at me – $8,500,000! I looked at my wife and she looked at me – then we both jumped up, started hugging and dancing, with our dog jumping around our feet,” the winner said.

The couple added they continued on with their weekend as normal, “we tried to play it cool and keep our day as normal as possible, but it’s pretty tough staying focused with a million thoughts racing around your head! My mind was buzzing all day long, it all felt so surreal, it still does to be honest.”

The pair said they plan to buy a boat and book an overseas trip flying business class with their winnings.

“But other than that, we’re going to take some time to really think about what we want to do with our winnings – we want to make the most of it and really set ourselves up for the future. We feel so incredibly lucky and are so excited for what’s ahead.”

The winning ticket was purchased on MyLotto for the draw on Saturday April 9.