Retired Te Puke couple claim $410,000 lotto win
Udpated 12.07:
A retired Te Puke couple, who had never played Bullseye before, have struck it lucky on their very first ticket, winning $410,000.
The couple, who wish to remain anonymous, purchased the ticket from Allen United Video and Lotto Te Puke, on a whim after seeing that the Bullseye First Division had reached a 'Must Be Won' level.
"My husband saw the sign outside the shop and said, 'well we better get one of those," says the happy winner.
"Once I put it into my purse, we forgot about it. A few days later when we were driving to visit family we heard on the local radio that the Bullseye prize had been won in Te Puke.
"We checked the results on the computer when we got home and realised we had the winning ticket," says the winner.
As there were no winners for Bullseye First Division in the Must Be Won draw, under the game rules the First Division prize is added to the next highest division where there are winners. As the Te Puke couple were the sole winners of Second Division, they won $10,000 plus an additional $400,000 from the roll down of the top prize.
"When we bought the ticket, I had a funny feeling. Who knew it was meant to be so lucky!" laughs the winner.
"The whole thing is still sinking in. It just came at such a good time for us and has really lifted the financial pressure," says the winner.
The couple are unsure of what they will spend their winnings on, however a new car is definitely high on the wish list.
Meanwhile, Lotto retailers will have a busy day tomorrow with Powerball jackpotting to a massive $20 million. The last time Powerball reached these heights was earlier this year, in March.
Earlier:
The winning Bullseye ticket worth $410,000 has been claimed.
NZ Lotteries confirmed to the Bay of Plenty Times the winning ticket had been presented.
A NZ Lotteries spokeswoman would not confirm if the prize was claimed in the Bay of Plenty or in Wellington, as she had not yet spoken to the winners. She would also not say if the winners were locals.
"I can't say anything until I've spoken with the winners but I can say the prize claim has arrived in Wellington [yesterday].
The winning Bullseye ticket was sold at Allen United Video and Lotto Te Puke.
Manager Murray Allen said the store had sold winning tickets before but this was the largest amount won from a Big Wednesday or Bullseye ticket.
