The ‘mack daddy’ of prizes
A Taupō couple who won $1million in Lotto on the weekend say they will pay off the mortgage and buy a ute that has cup holders.
Store owners Amandeep Kaur (right) and Randeep Singh are happy that the winning ticket was purchased by one of their local customers. Photo: Dan Hutchinson
The pair, who wish to remain anonymous, are regular players who have been playing their own numbers for more than 20 years. In last Wednesday’s draw, they won some bonus lines.
On Saturday night, the man was watching the live Lotto draw and realised the winning numbers weren't the ones they usually play.
"We knew they weren’t our numbers, so we didn't really think much more about it," he said.
It wasn't until later that they remembered they also had some bonus lines to check.
"We scanned the ticket on the MyLotto app, and it came up saying we'd won a major prize.
Curious to find out exactly what they'd won, the couple began checking the numbers one by one.
"My wife read them out and I checked them off. Then we checked it again. And again. I reckon we checked it about ten times because we just couldn't believe it."
When it finally sunk in that their bonus ticket had scored them a First Division prize of $1 million, the couple were stunned.
"We had to have a little sit down," the man laughed. "It was very, very exciting."
The couple say the prize will make a huge difference to their lives and future plans.
"This is so much money to us," he said. “We need to have a good long think about how to manage it.”
While they're planning to get some good financial advice before making any major decisions, they already have a few ideas about how they'd like to use the money.
"We’ll pay off the mortgage, and I’d also like to trade in the old ute and get one with cup holders," he joked.
"This really is the ‘mack daddy’ of prizes to us. We'll be able to look after our future very comfortably with it."
The lucky couple are not the only ones who are thrilled with the big win.
Amandeep Kaur and Randeep Singh are the owners of Paetiki Lotto Magazines & Post, where the winning ticket came from.
It is the first First Division-winning ticket they have sold since buying the store three years ago and the second in the store’s history. They have sold four or five second-division winners.
“All the locals know us now, so we saw so many people today … and they just came to say hello and congratulations to us as well,” Amandeep says.
She was happy the winner was local.
“I always hope my locals will win. If not me then definitely the locals because they always supporting the business.”
They will get a trophy as a memento for selling a Division 1 winner.
The store is a traditional news agent, also selling a wide range of magazines and newspapers and acts as an agent for NZ Post.