Woman buzzing after win

A Nelson woman who buys Lotto tickets ‘‘once in a blue moon’’ can’t believe her recent decision to grab a ticket ended up with her winning $500,000 with Lotto first division for the April 27 draw.

The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, had a ‘‘good feeling’’ when she bought a ticket ahead of last week’s Wednesday night draw, before stashing it away safely and thinking nothing more of it.

‘‘On Thursday, when I was at work, I got an email from Lotto saying I had won a prize. I was a little bit sceptical, but I went ahead and flicked open the MyLotto app anyway,’’ the woman said.

‘‘The first number on my ticket circled off right away, followed by the second number, then the third and fourth.

‘‘At that point I was excited, but when the fifth and sixth number circled off, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.’’

Still in disbelief, the woman walked straight out the front doors of her workplace to find a quiet place to gather her thoughts.

‘‘I opened up the email from Lotto to read it once more, then rechecked my ticket.

‘‘It only sank in when I read on Lotto’s website that someone from Nelson had won Lotto the night before. I thought, ‘that’s me’.

‘‘I was shaking all over when I called a family member and said, ‘you’re never going to believe this, but I’ve just won half a million dollars’. It was such a surreal moment,’’ she said.

‘‘The rest of the day passed by in a blur. I kept thinking about how I could finally replace my car – it has been on death’s door for ages!’’

With the winnings now claimed, the woman is looking forward to not only buying a new vehicle and getting a foot on the property ladder, but being able to set her family up for the future.

‘‘I hardly slept a wink that night, but I didn’t mind – I thought to myself, ‘what can I do in the middle of the night? I’ll look at cars!’’’