Subj : Lotto $50m draw: Two winners yet to come forward to claim $7m prize
To   : All
From : News
Date : Fri Jun 14 2024 02:04 pm

By 1News Reporters
12:02pm

Two winners of the must-win $50m Lotto draw last Saturday are yet to come
forward to claim their prize, with officials saying steps will be taken to
find them if they remain unclaimed for two weeks.


2.6 million tickets were bought by players across New Zealand for Saturday
night's draw, with the two remaining winners buying their tickets in Auckland
at Victoria St Woolworths Metro and Royal Oak Mall Lotto.


Lotto NZ corporate communications manager Sarah McCormack said it was
"unusual but not unheard of" for big winners not to claim their prizes
immediately.


"Most Powerball winners claim within a few days - but sometimes there can be
a delay if they're away, busy or have even temporarily forgotten they bought
it in the first place."


If winners haven't claimed their tickets within a couple of weeks, Lotto will
start taking steps to find them, she said.


"Making sure our winners receive their prizes in a reasonable time frame is a
critical part of what we do, but it can be a bit of a balancing act between
giving our winners the space to have that `winning' moment, and making sure
they know they are holding a winning ticket and need to claim their prize."


Five have already claimed their $7.18m prize, with the Hamilton winner saying
he only buys a ticket when the Powerball hits $10m.


When he saw his local store had sold one of the winning tickets, he quickly
checked his.


"When they showed me the amount all I could say was 'nah, surely not?!'"


Another of the Auckland winners who bought her ticket at Pak'n'Save Wairau Rd
on the North Shore said she needed a couple of days to "chill and absorb the
news" before claiming her prize.

She said she didn't get much sleep and was "really scared of losing that
ticket".


"I spent a lot of time googling `what to do when you've won Lotto'."

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