The man said he and his wife were "dumbfounded" when they discovered they were millionaires just before bedtime on Saturday.
While getting ready to go to bed he spotted an article saying someone from Invercargill had won $1 million
“I opened the app and skipped the virtual draw, expecting to see ‘better luck next time’, but this time it was different. I stared at the screen, and then closed and reopened the app a few times to make sure it wasn’t some kind of glitch,” he said.
He handed the phone to his wife to double check.
“She thought I was joking and didn’t believe me at first. We sat up for a while – both a bit dumbfounded – it still hasn’t really sunk in.”
The man usually only buys a ticket when the jackpot is high but got an email last week saying he had $16 in his MyLotto account.
After buying a non-winning ticket for Wednesday's draw, he decided on an impulse to try his luck again on Saturday.
"I looked at the clock and it was 7:20pm so I made a split-second decision to buy another ticket for that night – which turned out to be a pretty good decision,” he said.
The couple are planning to pay off their mortgage, finish some home renovations, and invest the rest of the money for their family’s future.
- Allied Media
