A Manawatū couple who won $1 million in last week’s Lotto draw has celebrated their big win by getting KFC.
The couple, who wished to remain anonymous, bought their ticket from Four Square Milson in Palmerston North – their usual spot.
The man said that when he bought the ticket, he asked the Lotto operator if they had ever “sold a big one”.
“A long time ago,” the operator replied.
The man retorted with: “Well, you’d better print out the winning ticket so you can add to your trophy collection then.”
While celebrating Father’s Day on Sunday, the man read that the winning ticket had been sold in Palmerston North, prompting him to check it.
Writing the numbers at the top of the ticket, he started checking line by line.
“Before I knew it, I had a full line matching. I put down my pen, stepped back and took a deep breath before looking again – making sure I double-checked everything – the date of the draw, draw number, and all the winning numbers,” he said.
He then called his wife, telling her, “How long have we dreamed of winning Lotto – well, we have!”
“She thought I was joking ’til I looked at her seriously and said, ‘this is no joke, we’ve won a million dollars’.”
The next day, he called Lotto and went back to the shop where he bought the ticket to claim his prize.
“The people at Lotto called the shop to let them know I was coming, and when I walked in I felt like a film star,” he said.
“They knew who I was, and the person behind the counter just nodded and shook my hand, quietly congratulating me.”
With the prize now claimed, the couple decided to celebrate with a KFC lunch.
They planned on paying off their mortgage with their prize, which felt “amazing”.
“We are so thankful for this win, and we want to make sure it lasts as long as we can, so we will take some time and get good advice before making any decisions.”
