But the winning ticket, bought at New World Lincoln, almost went down the drain - literally.
The couple, who want to remain anonymous, are regular Lotto players and have used the same numbers for the past 20 years.
“They’re special numbers chosen by me and our children,” the woman explained.
And they paid off after the couple used them when buying the Triple Dip ticket on a whim last Wednesday morning.
“I was in a rush to pick up some biscuits for work and decided to check one of my old tickets,” the man said.
“While I was waiting for the Lotto operator to check it, I thought I may as well get one for tonight.”
With the biscuit situation sorted and the ticket stuffed safely in his pocket, the man rushed to work.
By the time the evening rolled around, the man had forgotten about the ticket and hadn’t heard that his local store had sold a big winner.
It wasn’t until Sunday evening that he thought to check it - and by that time, it had seen better days.
“I’d been doing some water blasting at the weekend and my clothes had gotten drenched,” the man said.
“I found the ticket in my pocket and saw the numbers had already started to fade.
"So, I put it on the side of the truck for half a day to dry out. I didn’t think about it at the time, but it could’ve blown away,” the man laughed.
"When we checked it on the app, we didn’t expect to see anything.
"But when we saw the words, ‘MAJOR WINNER,’ and that it was First Division, my wife just burst into tears."
The couple are “still processing” the win and haven’t had a chance to celebrate yet.
“It’s especially lovely to have before Christmas. And it truly is life-changing for us – it gives us the opportunity to own our own home,” the man said.
The win capped off a hat-trick for the South Island.
Christmas also came early for a lucky Powerball player from Southland who won $6.3 million with Powerball First Division in last Wednesday's draw.
The winning ticket was the 19th Powerball multi-millionaire of 2022.
Another $333,333 Lotto First Division ticket was sold at the Richmond Night N Day in Nelson.
