The Lotto Powerball jackpot has skyrocketed to a life-changing $30 million for this weekend, but does it come close to the biggest wins in Lotto’s history?  

A winner lucky enough to strike Saturday’s jackpot will join the ranks of the biggest earnings from a single ticket in Lotto’s history.  

However, if it is shared between players, the win will fail to make the list of the top five biggest prizes won.  

The biggest win ever was struck in 2020 when $50 million was split between ten players.  

The prize left the lucky punters from Lincoln Heights, Auckland, Tauranga, Napier, Palmerston North and Invercargill $5 million richer.  

A $50 million jackpot was also struck in February of the same year and was shared by two Aucklanders.  

One ticket was purchased by a punter online, while the second was purchased at Countdown Manukau City Mall.  

The third largest win on the list is also the biggest prize to be won by a single ticket.  

A young couple from Auckland’s Hibiscus Coast took home an eye-watering $44 million in 2016 after purchasing the ticket at the Dairy Flat Food Mart. 

Nishchal Pandya who owns the Dairy Flat Food Mart and Liquor store where the ticket was sold as well as the one where the ticket was allegedly presented said: “I just got a call from my other store, the prize has been claimed from there.” 

Pandya said he was so excited when he found out about his shop’s first big win and hoped a local was the lucky winner. 

A major prize by a single ticket was not struck again until October 2021 when a Pōkeno family became $ 42.1 million richer. 

The family only realised Powerball had been struck when they read the news on Thursday morning. 

“I didn’t know what to do next, I was sure I must be making some sort of mistake! I always imagined whooping and cheering if I won, but I have never been so calm in my life. I popped the ticket back in my wallet and waited for my husband to come inside from the garden,” the wife said. 

When her husband arrived she jumped up to tell him they were now multimillionaires. 

“I’d barely stepped inside when she raced over and blurted out ‘we’ve just won $42 million with Powerball’ – it took a second or two to get my head around what she had said,” he said. 

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022. 

This article was originally published on the NZ Herald here.