Port Chalmers man feeling 'quite remarkable' after $1m Lotto win

A Port Chalmers man says he carried a $1 million Lotto ticket around in his wallet for a week while he let the magnitude of the prize sink in.

The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, has been playing Lotto since the very first draw in 1987, and is a regular customer at the Windsor On The Spot Express store in Port Chalmers.

"I’ve been buying my tickets from that shop for over 20 years," said the man.

"I nearly didn’t buy my ticket that day though – there was an event on in Port Chalmers and the shop was the busiest I’ve ever seen it, so when I saw the queue I nearly turned and walked away. I’m really glad didn’t," he laughed.

The man doesn’t have a set way of playing – sometimes he chooses his own numbers, other times he grabs a dip ticket with random numbers. This time, a small win from the previous draw nudged him into buying a Power Dip.

He found out that he had won a day after the draw, when he sat down to check his ticket.

"I hadn’t heard about the win, I just checked my ticket like I normally do and saw I’d won.

"I didn’t know what to think… or what do with the ticket at that point," he said.

After debating where to hide his ticket, he eventually tucked it away in his wallet – where it would stay for over a week.

"I carried it around for over a week before claiming. I just wanted some time to think about what to do with it and let it sink in.

"It’s quite a remarkable feeling to have won $1 million – I’m still processing it and needed a minute to step back and take a breath," he said.

"I must admit, I had to double check it was still there a few times that week."

The man is going to take things slow, but does know what he’d like to do with his win.

"I have an idea of what I want to do with the money, but for now, I’m going to lock it away while I put those plans into place.

"I would have been ever so grateful to win even $100,000 – so this was such a pleasant surprise, and will help me reach my goal."

It is the second major prize-winning ticket sold at Port Chalmers' Windsor On The Spot Express store in as many years. 

In March 2025, the same store sold a ticket that went on to win $5.3m.