One Lucky Winner Rings In New Year With $1 Million Windfall

With the New Year just a few days away, a winner from Waiheke Island will start 2013 feeling flush after winning $1 million with Lotto First Division, says NZ Lotteries’ Chief Executive Wayne Pickup.

Their winning Lotto ticket was sold at Ostend Store on Waiheke Island.

Another lucky winner will start their new year with a bang after winning the Strike Four prize of $779,072. The ticket was bought at Coastlands Lotto in Paraparaumu.

Meanwhile, Powerball was not struck and has jackpotted to $10 million for next week’s draw.

Butch, a retired widower from Waiuku, won $200,000 on the Winning Wheel at the live draw at Wellington’s Avalon studios this evening.

Tonight’s Winning Wheel ticket was bought on the NZ Lotteries’ online channel, MyLotto, by a player from Auckland City. The serial number is 672-17488723-20XX.

Anyone who bought a ticket from any of the above winning stores should write their name on the back of the ticket and check it immediately at any Lotto outlet or online at MyLotto.co.nz.

Lotto’s holiday promotion is also underway, giving Lotto Triple Dip players the chance to win one of 200 extra prizes worth over $5 million.

Every Triple Dip purchased during the three-week promotion period, from 16 December 2012 to 5 January 2013, will generate a special promotional voucher with a unique number. The 200 winning voucher numbers will be drawn on Saturday 5 January 2013.

Thanks to Lotto players, thousands of community groups benefit each year from millions in lottery grants. From your local Plunket to national groups, such as Surf Life Saving and the Coast Guard, lottery grants provide badly needed funding and support.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>