Unclaimed $27m win has town on edge

The lucky Thames Lotto winner was still to come forward last night after scooping one of the biggest Powerball wins in history.

The $27.3 million Powerball and First Division ticket was sold at Martina Four Square and Lotto and while people queued up outside prior to opening at 8am, none of them had the right numbers. But they were persistent. Shop worker Mandeep Singh said the town was abuzz with the news, and most were checking their tickets at least twice just to be sure — using the self-checker before getting staff to also scan it in case the machinery was faulty.

“Normally they just chuck it in the bin after checking their tickets, but . . . they’re still keeping them at the moment.

“It’s very hard for me to say, ‘sorry mate, you’re not a winner’.”

He had also been fielding phone calls from people at home double-checking their numbers, including online players.

They opened their doors half an hour earlier because of the large number of people waiting outside to get in.

He said they were having one of their busiest Sundays.

Susan Monahan, duty manager at The Junction Hotel, said the win had been all everyone was talking about. “It’s . . . the talk of the town.” However, the lucky punter hadn’t turned up in the pub to shout a few drinks. She expected the person to lay low for a while.

Mayor Sandra Goudie didn’t buy a ticket for last night’s draw and said she’s a bit “hit and miss” with her Lotto.

She said it was “fantastic” for the district and hoped it was a local.

Goudie wished the winner all the best and suggested they first take a deep breath and get some “sound accounting advice” before making any big decisions on what to do with their windfall.

The winning numbers were 9, 8, 3, 36, 28 and 2.

The bonus ball was 18, while the all important Powerball number was 10.

The win includes $27m from Powerball plus $333,333 from Lotto first division.

Lotto NZ said it was the fourth largest Powerball win in the history of the game.