New Zealand lottery winner hid ticket worth $33 million in his sock drawer
After winning big in a remarkable lottery draw in New Zealand, a Christchurch couple is having trouble deciding what to do with their staggering winnings. They apparently weren't worried about someone stealing the ticket, worth NZ$33 million ($20.7 million), because they just hid it in a drawer.
The couple, who asked not to be named, said they were surprised to win. The draw took place on June 28, but the draw didn't take place until July 8.
According to lottery officials, they need time to process the winnings and get things in order before charting a course forward. Now that you've claimed your bonus, the fun can begin.
Redemption
A New Zealand Lotto representative said in a statement that the couple, who only played the lottery occasionally, purchased their Powerball bet, which is a random set of numbers, about a week before the high-stakes draw. The woman admitted that due to her busy work schedule, she never took time to check the lottery ticket after the draw.
It wasn't until late Wednesday that she sat down to check the numbers. Her husband had fallen asleep, but not for long.
When she found that all the numbers matched, she woke him up so he could check again. He confirmed the number combination and suddenly no longer chose sleep.
Rather than rushing to contact lottery headquarters to claim their winnings, the couple opted for a pragmatic approach. They want to discuss their options and figure out how to best use their new wealth.
They tossed their winning tickets into their sock drawer while doing their daily tasks. Luckily nothing happened to the little piece of paper and a week later they received their prize.
1.4 million New Zealanders took part in the lottery last week. When news of the huge bonus broke, interest quickly increased. The latest lottery win marks a milestone for 2023 and is the ninth-highest Powerball win of the year, according to Lotto NZ statistics.
Don’t go out like Rodgers
There are many examples of lottery winners who didn’t know what to do with their sudden windfall. So the New Zealand couple hatched their plan and took the right approach. If only Kelly Rogers had done this 20 years ago.
In 2003, at the age of 16, Rogers won a gold medal in a British draw. The event made her the UK's youngest lottery winner. But she didn't handle immediate success well.
Rogers appears to have lost most or all of her £1.87 million ($2.4 million) lottery winnings. She was recently spotted shopping at controversial discount supermarket chain Iceland, according to the Daily Mail.
Apparently, she spent almost all of her winnings on plastic surgery, gifts for friends and family, and shopping. Rogers also reportedly developed an expensive drug addiction, which also negatively impacted her profits.
It was also revealed in court that even after winning the lottery, she had at least temporarily received Universal Credit, a form of social security payment. This did not help her financial situation as the court ordered her to repay the entire amount in installments, which she is still doing.
Keep this in mind before your Powerball drawing
Winning the lottery doesn't mean you can't be smart when you win. If you win a big lottery ticket, making a plan and getting financial advice should be the first two steps.
The next US Powerball drawing will be held on Monday night and will be one of the largest in recent history. The jackpot rose to $650 million from $629.1 million after a winner failed to be found on Saturday.
This draw is the 34th consecutive time without a winner. Powerball officials announced in a press release that the upcoming jackpot will be the ninth largest jackpot in the game's history. Additionally, this will be the second largest award given out this year.
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Source: www.casino.org
