The woman now plans to pay off her daughter's mortgage, make her children and grandchildren financially secure and travel the world first-class.
She was one of two winners to split Saturday’s $30 million jackpot - the other winner was a man from Wellington.
The woman, who has been playing her own numbers for years, picked up her ticket at Plaza Supervalue and sat down on Saturday night to watch the draw.
“I always watch the draw on Saturday night and write down the numbers to check my ticket against,” she said.
“When I saw I had all six numbers and the Powerball, my first thought was ‘I really hope someone else has won too,’ – that was before I saw the official results that it was two of us!”
The woman said she immediately shared the news with her children straight away.
“I called my daughter and said, ‘how would you feel if I told you I was going to pay your mortgage?’
“My son didn’t believe me at first, he had to check the ticket himself,” she laughed.
“They were both thrilled for me.”
“I didn’t sleep at all that night, I had so much going through my mind – it still feels so unbelievable,” said the woman.
She returned to Plaza Supervalue the following day to claim her prize.
“It was such a strange feeling hearing people talking about the win and who might have won it, knowing it was me and that no one knew,” she said.
“This money means I can do so much to help my children and grandchildren – they will be financially secure, and that’s a wonderful feeling.”
She was also planning to treat herself to a long overdue overseas trip.
“I’ve been wanting to go for a long time, and now I can – my family said I have to make sure I fly first-class though,” she laughed. - APL
