It’s party time for Lotto’s 30th
Kiwis still drawn by the million-dollar chance to win and change their lives, writes Ophelia Buckleton.
Turning 30 might make you feel like diving under the pillow but for Lotto it’s a milestone to celebrate. On August 1, 1987 Kiwis gathered around the telly to watch New Zealand’s first Lotto draw, enticed by the chance of scooping the $359,808 First-Division prize — eventually split four ways.
Lotto will celebrate giving away $9.4 billion in prizes to almost 430 million Kiwis since the barrel was first turned. The birthday numbers, on August 2, will be the 1669th draw.
If you’re looking for omens, the first number drawn 30 years ago was 4. However, it has not been a sign of good fortune — 4 doesn’t even make the top 10 “luckiest” numbers.
Curiously, unlucky 13 has been the serendipitous Lotto number second only to 1, both of which have been drawn more than 300 times each in Lotto history.
Since Lotto started, 14 Kiwis have won more than $20 million each.
There have also been a number of weird and wonderful wins over the years, including that of Trevor Cooper, the former Huntly Countdown worker who scooped $27m in 2012; an Auckland couple who got lucky just 24 hours after getting engaged and their house nearly burning down; and the $1m ticket that blew away from an eventual winner in a carpark.
An Auckland man who lost his wallet and almost $1m with it also won big in August last year.
The 28-year-old who did not want to be named bought his winning ticket from Pak’nSave in Mt Albert before putting it into his wallet for safekeeping.
“I couldn’t find my wallet for three days,” he told the Herald on Sunday.
“When you lose things like that you normally expect to find them pretty quickly. But by Saturday afternoon, I was starting to think about cancelling my cards — my Lotto ticket didn’t even cross my mind.”
Luckily the missing wallet was found underneath his bed and his Lotto ticket duly checked.
Since his 2016 windfall, the man has treated his 9-year-old daughter to a trip to Queenstown, given a decent chunk to his mum and bought an apartment in Auckland.
The man said his dad died four years ago, before he was able to help his parents out financially.
“I always saw Dad working hard even though he was getting far too old to work and I thought, ‘I reckon I can earn enough to suss him and Mum out so he doesn’t have to work.’
“But obviously he died before I had enough money, so it was quite cool to have the opportunity to give to Mum.”
The lucky winner has since started purchasing Lotto tickets every week.
For those looking to boost their odds of scooping Lotto, it may pay to visit the country’s luckiest stores and cities.
Unichem Stortford Lodge in Hawke’s Bay has sold 45 First Division winning tickets for Lotto, Powerball and Strike in the past 30 years, making it New Zealand’s luckiest store.
Auckland is unsurprisingly the luckiest city with more than $1b won by almost 2000 lucky punters since 1987.
This includes the country’s biggest Powerball jackpot of $44m sold to a young couple at Dairy Flat Food Mart in November last year.
Lotto New Zealand general manager of corporate communications Emilia Mazur said celebrating Lotto’s 30th birthday was a chance to look back at the real difference winning has made to Kiwis’ lives.
“Lotto has been part of the Kiwi way of life for 30 years, giving generations of New Zealanders a chance to dream and imagine what we’d do if we won.
“Over 800 everyday Kiwis have become millionaires overnight through playing Lotto, which is absolutely life-changing.” Lotto has also donated more than $4b to community projects since 1987. “Thanks to Lotto players, over 3000 community groups receive essential funding every year to help make good things happen in our communities and that’s a legacy that every one of us at Lotto NZ is proud of,” Mazur said.