Old Lotto ticket lands Napier man $300,000

A man from Napier is $300,000 richer, thanks to a nearly threemonth-old Lotto ticket.

The winner bought the Strike ticket from Taradale Four Square ahead of the Lotto draw on September 20 but only just found out how much it was worth after he found left it in his truck – less than three weeks out from Christmas.

‘‘Every now and then, I do a big cleanout of my truck,’’ he said.

‘‘This time, I found a few Lotto tickets tucked away in the centre compartment.

‘‘I didn’t think anything of it at the time because I often pop tickets in there and forget about them.

‘‘I can’t even remember where I bought each ticket.’’

The winner headed into his local Lotto store this week and was surprised to find he had been sitting on a win.

‘‘I was checking the bunch of old tickets at the self-scanner and saw one of the messages showed: ‘Congratulations – First Division win’.

‘‘The funny thing is that I must have been in doubt because I just carried on checking the rest of the tickets.

‘‘Then I checked it again, and I must have checked it four more times before I finally went to the counter.

‘‘I handed over a couple of smallwin tickets first and then said to the retailer: ‘This one says it’s a First Division win – is that a good thing?’

‘‘When I found out I’d won $300,000, I was in shock. It still hasn’t sunk in, although I can say it’s been great timing,’’ he added. ‘‘This win has provided real peace of mind.’’

He was still deciding how he would spend his winnings.