Loose Change Leads to $23.5m NZ Lotto Win

What do you do with your loose change? A man from Auckland in New Zealand decided to use his to buy a NZ Lotto ticket. It proved to be a great idea as his ticket won him the $23.5 million  jackpot in the January 18 draw.

His wife had sent him to their local supermarket to buy some eggs and milk. However, he didn’t spend all of their money so another purchase was made. “I had some change left over so I thought I might as well buy a (NZ Lotto) ticket because of the high jackpot,” said the jubilant winner.

He’s not a regular lottery player and says tickets are only purchased if the NZ Lotto jackpot is over $20 million. That evening he and his wife joked about what they’d do if they became lottery millionaires.

Well, it could be me!

The following day he took their ticket off the mantelpiece and took it to the supermarket to see if it had won anything.  He was shocked when the scan revealed ‘Major Prize.’ At first he thought it might be $1000 but a big shock was on the way.

The Lotto operator told him that the $23.5 million NZ Lott jackpot had been won. He replied "Well, it could be me!” never guessing he was actually speaking the truth.

Are you kidding me?

After discovering he really had won the jackpot he swiftly phoned his wife. As is often the case, she simply didn’t believe the news as he’s always kidding her. The fact her husband was crying (something that went on for three hours), she realised he wasn’t fooling around.

His son wasn’t that convinced though. He asked his father if the win was just $23. That led the NZ Lotto winner to check again to finally convince himself.

The couple say that plans for their windfall will include going through their bucket list. A bright future certainly lies ahead of them. Next time you have some change left, perhaps a lottery purchase would be a good idea.

Get your tickets today from Lottery24.