NZ's newest millionaires celebrate Lotto win with KFC lunch

Author: NZ Herald,
Publish Date: Tue, 9 Sept 2025, 2:54pm

A Manawatū couple celebrated a $1 million Lotto win with a KFC lunch after learning their winning ticket was sold at their regular store through the news.

The couple, who did not want to be named, are now drawing up plans to pay off their mortgage and make sure the cash lasts.

The man read that a Palmerston North player had struck it lucky buying a ticket from Four Square Milson while he was celebrating Father’s Day on Sunday.

“I wrote the numbers at the top of my ticket and began to check line by line,” he said.

“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.

“Then I called my wife through and said to her ‘how long have we dreamed to win Lotto – well we have!’."

The man’s wife initially thought it was a joke.

A Manawatū couple has claimed their $1m Lotto First Division prize, with plans to pay off their mortgage following their big win. Photo / Lotto

He called Lotto to inform them he’d won, who then let the store know he was coming in to claim the prize.

“When I walked in I felt like a film star,” he joked.

“They knew who I was and the person behind the counter just nodded and shook my hand, quietly congratulating me.”

The couple had plenty of ideas about where the money would be best put.

“The main thing we want to do is pay off our mortgage, which will feel amazing,” he said.

“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.”

The Manawatū couple weren’t the only Kiwis who scored big over the weekend.

Two Strike players also won $350,000 each on Saturday night, with one of the winning tickets sold at Pak’nSave Whakatāne in Whakatāne and the other through the MyLotto app to a player from Christchurch.

Saturday night’s $5m Lotto Powerball jackpot was not struck meaning Powerball has rolled over to Wednesday, with a $6m jackpot up for grabs tomorrow night.

Saturday night’s numbers were 18, 17, 32, 27, 6 and 40. The bonus ball is 39 and Powerball 9.

Lotto Powerball made another Kiwi couple multi-millionaires at the end of August. Photo / Michael Bradley