Winner oblivious to big Lotto win

A Wellington man carried around a million-dollar Lotto ticket in his wallet for two months before discovering he had won the jackpot.

He discovered his fortune while buying a new ticket on Saturday night when he found half a dozen old tickets in his wallet. Staff at the Island Bay video shop told him his Triple Dip from the April 5 draw was worth $1m.

‘‘Pretty happy is an understatement,’’ said the man, who did not want to be identified.

‘‘I was just stunned. believe it at first.’’

His bank was also in disbelief when the money was deposited yesterday and called him.

‘‘They said: There’s been a rather large sum deposited into your account overnight. Do you know anything about it? ‘‘I said: Yes, I’ve just won Lotto. ‘‘That got them pretty excited.

I didn’t

‘‘Usually it’s in the negative, overdrawn.’’ He said he had been a regular Lotto player for 27 years and the most he had won before was $95.

He bought randomly generated numbers, usually a Triple Dip or Powerball. He plans to pay off his mortgage, then help out two brothers in financial strife.

One had a failed business and owed money, and one had refused to return from Australia for seven years because his student loan was so large.

That brother even missed their mother’s funeral last year and the winner was determined he should return home before their elderly father died.

His daughter, 20, also had a shopping spree in mind, he said, and was keen to upgrade to a new iPhone. ‘‘She also thinks we need a new car.’’