Couple Claim ‘Mind-Boggling' $23.3 Million Powerball Prize
29 April 2025
A couple from the upper North Island celebrated with fish and chips on the beach after claiming the largest Powerball prize this year – $23.3 million, which was won in Wednesday's draw last week.
The couple, who wish to remain anonymous, say that seeing '$23,333,333' on their MyLotto ticket was 'mind-boggling.'
'I was checking my emails and saw one from Lotto NZ, saying I had won a prize. I thought it must have been something big to get an email,' said the man.
Opening MyLotto, and waiting for his ticket to load, the man was wondering how much he'd won.
'I thought maybe it was the $333,333 – which would have been life-changing itself!'
The virtual draw animation played in the app, and the winning amount was stamped at the top of the ticket.
'I saw the 23 at the start, and it took me a few seconds to figure out it was $23 million, it was absolutely mind-boggling.'
The man went to tell his wife the good news.
'She could see I was tearful and asked what was wrong. I just blurted it out – 'we've won 23.3 million dollars!''
'We're always joking with each other, so of course she didn't believe me… until I showed her the ticket on MyLotto.'
The couple spent the rest of the day not quite believing what had happened.
'We're both shocked to our core. It's going to take a while to sink in, and I don't think it will start to feel real until we see it in the bank.'
The couple celebrated their win with good ol' Kiwi fish and chips on the beach and chatted about their family's future.
'We live a simple life and will continue to – but what we can now do for our children, and our grandchildren – that's what's life-changing,' said the man.
Notes:
This is the largest Powerball prize won since December 2024 when a man from New Plymouth won $23.3 million.
The winning $23.3 million Powerball First Division ticket was sold on MyLotto for the draw on Wednesday 23 April.
The prize is made up of $23 million from Powerball First Division and $333,333 from Lotto First Division.
The winners would like to remain anonymous and do not wish to provide any further comment at this stage.
Powerball wins in 2025
Date Prize Store Location
1 8 January $7 million MyLotto Wellington
2 22 January $8.3 million MyLotto Taranaki
3 8 February $10.5 million Glenview Centre Lotto & Post Hamilton
4 26 February $10.5 million Paper Plus Waihi & Toyworld Waihi
5 15 March $5.5 million New World St Martins Christchurch
6 15 March $5.5 million New World Gardens Dunedin
7 22 March $5.3 million Windsor On the Spot Express Port Chalmers
8 23 April $23.3 million MyLotto Upper North Island
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- NZ Herald
Lotto Powerball: Are you a multi-millionaire after tonight's $30m draw?
The potentially very lucky numbers are in for tonight's mega $30 million Powerball draw. The life-changing amount is up for grabs after Powerball was not struck on Wednesday evening. The numbers are 11, 35, 3, 20, 19 and 27. The bonus ball is 31 and the Powerball 7. Tonight's draw
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Cameras reveal more kiwi than possum on Taranaki range
Kiwi on trail cam at Kaitake. Photo: Supplied / Department of Conservation Dozens of cameras installed on the Kaitake Range in Taranaki are revealing the success stemming from five years of intensive predator control. The western-most of three mountain ranges in Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki, Kaitake is the focus for a joint predator control programme involving the Department of Conservation, Taranaki Maunga Project, iwi, and other community collaborators. DOC biodiversity ranger Brandon Kingi said a comparison of images captured by the trail cameras dotted across the Kaitake showed a dramatic decrease in predators such as possums, stoats and feral cats - and a notable increase in protected native species like kiwi, which had been successfully reintroduced to the area. "We've seen a big fall in the number of feral cats caught on our cameras, which shows the 1080 operation has effectively controlled them," said Kingi. "Immediately after the operation in November last year, the number of cats detected dropped almost overnight - from about 95 percent of the cameras showing feral cats, to about 1 percent. "There was a similar result for stoats - they were seen on our cameras before the operation, then they had almost vanished when we checked the cameras afterwards." The predator control methods used at Kaitake also included bait stations and leg-hold possum traps. Kingi said keeping predator numbers down required hard physical labour, carried out by staff from DOC and Taranaki Maunga Project, as well as volunteers and paid staff from iwi and community groups. "The community collaborators contributing to Kaitake working to protect biodiversity on the maunga have also helped control rats and mustelids." Kingi said the measured reduction of predators at Kaitake demonstrated how a trapping network extended the benefits from aerial operations by reducing predator reinvasion. There were also anecdotal observations of more birdlife across the range and a healthier forest. Taranaki Maunga Project pou whakahaere taurua/co-project director, Sean Zieltjes, said the camera data was another tangible measure that the hard work by kaimahi and volunteers removing predators and reintroducing kiwi was paying off. "We're really stoked, mate there. Our latest round of camera data from Kaitake is showing more images of kiwi than possums up there at the moment. We're really psyched with this and some ways we can't believe it. But it certainly gives us a shot in the arm and a steer that we're on the on the right track up there, that's for sure." Zieltjes said it showed the power of community involvement to really make a difference in driving biodiversity improvements. Kaitake didn't have a particular focus for Taranaki Mounga Project when it started nearly a decade ago, but community support for it changed that. "Relationships fostered with Ngā Mahanga a Tāiri, the Kaitake Conservation Ranges Trust, schools, landowners, and other groups and agencies, have snowballed into achieving much more than we could ever have done working separately." Zieltjes said invasive species were putting immense pressure on New Zealand's ecosystems and at 4000 Aotearoa had one of the highest rates of threatened species in the world. "Once our unique native species are gone, they are gone for good. The results at Kaitake demonstrate a small but important success in protecting native species." Organisations contributing to predator control and species protection at Kaitake include Ngā Mahanga a Tāiri hapū, Kaitake Conservation Ranges Trust, environmental educators Te Ara Taio, and numerous schools. Taranaki Kiwi Trust, Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, and Save the Kiwi had all contributed to the return of kiwi to the maunga. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
3 days ago
- NZ Herald
Matariki: How the Māori lunar calendar guides sustainable farming practices
As Aotearoa celebrates Matariki weekend, it is a good time to look at how Māori farmers used the Maramataka, the lunar year, to guide farming practices. The Matariki hākari (feast) is the time to celebrate the kai that comes from the land of Kiwi farms. Like most farmers deep in
