‘Lucky shop’ sells winning ticket

Martina Four Square and Lotto owner Sukhpal Singh didn’t get much sleep last night.

He found out about midnight that his Thames store had sold the $27 million Powerball winning ticket and his phone has been going nonstop since.

His shop usually opens at 7.30am, but he got there a half hour early yesterday.

‘‘Oh my god! It is just unbelievable,’’ Singh said. ‘‘We are a very lucky shop.’’

Singh said nobody has come into his Thames shop to claim the win. And while he hopes it is a Thames local, he says a lot of Aucklanders buy Lotto tickets from him.

‘‘I’m very happy. Thames needed some good news like this.’’

Singh said when there’s big money up for grabs, the staff have their fingers crossed.

It isn’t the first time the store has sold a winner, it once sold a $1m First Division Lotto ticket.

Singh has owned the shop on Pollen Street for five years. A Big Wednesday ticket was sold there, too.

‘‘We have customers who call in from Auckland to buy tickets because we have sold winning tickets before.

‘‘People come in and say to us we are a lucky shop, now we can say that we are once more. A big win like this is really good for us.’’

Singh said there is definitely a buzz in the community.

‘‘I look around and there are just happy Thames faces.’’

Singh said if he won, the first thing he would do is donate $1 million to the Thames Hospital.

‘‘It’s a lot of money, but I would just like to congratulate the winner and hope they spend it wisely.’’

Thames-Coromandel District Mayor Sandra Goudie didn’t buy a ticket, but is thrilled nonetheless. ‘‘I’m very happy for Martina Four Square and for the winners - I wish them all the best. ‘‘We are a lowincome district, so it will be even better if the money has gone to someone who needs help.’’

Goudie said the win was exciting. ‘‘Once the excitement dies down I’m sure there’ll be some speculation, but it’s all positive and a real buzz to have a good news story. ‘‘To the winners I can’t say much more than how thrilled I am for them.’’

‘‘That much money has a huge impact on someone’s life. If I won, my husband would probably say to do nothing for a few months to get over it and then decide what to do.’’

Her advice was to ‘‘take a deep breath and some time to reflect and consider wisely before taking action’’.

‘‘Enjoy the moment of having won.’’