Want a big Lotto win? Then move

If you want to win big on Lotto, Taranaki is not the place to be, new figures show.

According to statistics released by Lotto, Otorohanga was the luckiest place in the country when measured per capita - the amount of winnings divided by the number of people in the district - and was boosted to the top spot by a $13.3 million powerball win.

If the winnings were divided among the population evenly, all 9,141 people in Otorohanga would receive $1,526.56 from the win; if the same win was divided amongst the 109,000 people in Taranaki each person would get just shy of $120.

According to Lotto, Stratford rated the highest in winnings per capita with $95.31 per person, New Plymouth rated second with $72.61 and South Taranaki came in third for the region with just $65.71.

However, owner of Westown Lotto, Morry Collins, said the per capita system doesn’t serve the regions well and Taranaki is actually far luckier than it appears.

His store boasts nine first division winners, five strike division and nine promotion winners to name but a few.

‘‘Taranaki does bloody well out of Lotto, that’s just a fact,’’ he said.

‘‘If you were to come stand behind my counter for a day you’d see how much we pay out.

‘‘You have to be positive about it, otherwise you’re not going to be winning anything in my opinion.

‘‘There’s about 1450 Lotto stores in the country, that’s what we have to compete against to win.

‘‘People buy tickets hoping to win, and we sell them hoping they do as well because it’s good for us.’’

Collins’ isn’t the only store that’s had good luck with selling winning tickets, Ashvin patel owner of Patea Four Square has sold a few golden tickets in his time.

‘‘When I started about three years ago we sold a winner worth $500,000,’’ he said.

Boy found

An autistic boy was found safe and well after a six-hour search involving his mother, members of the community and police. The 12-yearold from Bell Block, near New Plymouth, went missing about 2.30pm on Tuesday and attempts to find him lasted into the night. Sergeant Kim Vollmer confirmed members of the land search and rescue team had been briefed. He was located about 9.15pm. Earlier on Tuesday, police also raised concerns for the welfare of another Taranaki boy who has been missing for four days. Sergeant Terry Johnson said Daniel Radford, 11, had not been seen since he left his home in Okato on Friday morning. Radford is described as a male European of medium build with sandy brown hair.

Caught at last

Escaping to Waikato wasn’t enough for a wanted Taranaki gang member to evade the long arm of the law. Black Power member Fenna Karaitiana, who was believed to be armed, had been on the run from police for more than two months and was wanted in connection with an aggravated robbery and kidnapping in South Taranaki on November 3. The 29-year-old’s bid for freedom came to an end in Hamilton on Tuesday, Detective Sergeant Chris Allemann said. ‘‘The Hamilton police went to an address looking for someone else and two guys there did a runner from the house and one of them was Fenna,’’ Allemann said. Initially Karaitiana gave officers false details but further inquiries were able to establish his true identity. ‘‘It was absolutely a great feeling that we have finally got him.’’ Karaitiana was due in the Hamilton District Court yesterday. In December, heavilyarmed police, including members of the Armed Offenders Squad, sealed off a New Plymouth suburb for about three hours while they hunted for Karaitiana but he was able to slip the net. However Allemann said he knew police officers would eventually get their man.

Evacuation case

A man whose appearance at IRD in New Plymouth in December triggered an evacuation has appeared in court. The man, whose name was suppressed on the request of his lawyer, entered no plea when he appeared in Hawera District Court on Tuesday. He is charged with one count of unlawful intimidation or threats. Judge Philip Crayton remanded him on bail until February 7. The man was arrested on December 19 at the IRD building in New Plymouth, after IRD staff were evacuated and police were called.

Puzzles page

Unfortunately the wrong puzzles page was printed in Wednesday’s paper. The page was from January 11, 2016 rather than 2017. Today’s puzzles page is correct but the ‘yesterday’s solutions’ will not correspond with the puzzles from Wednesday. We are working with the puzzle company and our internal systems on an ongoing issue and apologise for the confusion.