An Auckland man is celebrating after taking home $21 million in the first Lotto Powerball win of the year.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, made the life-changing decision to buy a ticket on MyLotto just before the draw closed on Saturday.
"It was late on Sunday evening when I finally got around to checking my ticket and it didn't take long to realise I was onto something," the man says.
"Watching all the numbers being circled on one line of my ticket felt like a bit of an out-of-body experience. I sat there staring at my phone asking myself, 'am I really seeing this?'"
He admits when a message popped up on MyLotto saying he had won a major prize he said a few "colourful" words.
The man called Lotto NZ the next day to confirm his winnings.
"Since then, I've been walking around giggling to myself and fist-pumping quietly - it's absolutely surreal," says the man.
The first person the man told was his mum.
"When I showed her the winning amount on my phone, she said, 'you've won $21?' - I said, 'no mum, there are a few extra zeroes there - take another look!"
The man says he is excited to be able to set himself up for the future and take care of his mum, as well as share some of the win with his close friends.
"I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't stop thinking about my win, so I ended up doing some online window shopping," he says.
"I have a bit of a wish-list of things to treat myself to now - I'm sure there will be a few things winging their way to me down the track."
