An Auckland man is $333,333 better off after winning Lotto First Division on Saturday – and it’s all thanks to a free Lotto ticket.

The winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, had been on a bit of a winning streak having won several Lotto Bonus Tickets in a row.

“I won a Bonus Ticket on a Lotto ticket I bought a few weeks ago – then that Bonus Ticket won me another one! I thought I was having a bit of a lucky run, winning a free ticket on a free ticket,” said the winner.

But it wasn’t until Sunday evening when the winner pulled his little yellow ticket out of his wallet and discovered just how lucky that Bonus Ticket really was.

“I pulled the winning numbers up on MyLotto and matched them up with the numbers on my ticket – I was absolutely stunned when I saw that I had them all on a single line.

“Then I remembered that it was a Bonus Ticket and I truly couldn’t believe my luck… winning First Division is one thing, but winning it on a Bonus Ticket is double-lucky!”

When the winner’s wife arrived home later that evening, he couldn’t wait to tell her the good news.

“The look on her face when I told her was absolutely priceless. It took a bit of convincing before she believed that I wasn’t joking,” the winner laughed.

Despite knowing just how much that little yellow ticket was worth, the winner took a few days to come to terms with his windfall before claiming the prize at Lotto NZ’s Auckland head office.

“It was a nervous few days, that’s for sure – there was no way I was letting that ticket out of my sight! I kept the winning ticket with me at all times – I even slept with it under my pillow!” said the winner.

With the winnings now safely in his bank account, the man is now looking forward to enjoying his prize.

“My wife and I are going to use the winnings to buy a house – we’re so excited to be able to buy our first home. I think a nice, long holiday will also be in the cards… and we’ll probably treat ourselves to a bit of shopping too,” the winner said.

The winning ticket was sold at Countdown Manukau for the draw on Saturday 28 July. The winning ticket was one of three around the country that shared Saturday’s $1 million Lotto jackpot.

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