Tauranga Retirees Bring Home $500,000

Tauranga Retirees Bring Home $500,000 From Trip To Wellington With Lotto’s Winning Wheel

The Canterbury NPC team weren’t the only visitors to Wellington leaving with a smile and memories of a lifetime. Lotto Winning Wheel’s latest winner, Mrs Helen Hough from Tauranga, won $500,000 on Saturday night’s live Lotto Draw, announced Helen Morgan-Banda, Head of Communications of New Zealand Lotteries Commission.

“The clapper was on $75,000 and I thought ‘oh that’s lovely’,” said Mrs Hough, a resident of Greenwood Park Village in Welcome Bay. "Then it ticked over to $500,000 and I still can’t believe it.”

Mrs Hough’s husband Bill flew to Wellington to be with her for the Winning Wheel experience and was at Avalon Studios for the live Lotto draw.

Mrs Hough proved to be a natural on live television, chatting easily in front of the camera with presenter Kyllee King-Turner. "I used to belong to the Gilbert and Sullivan Society and thought that might help," she said. “When it came to being on television the whole crew made you feel part of the team and I wasn’t nervous at all.”

The crew, some of whom have worked on the live Lotto broadcast for many of its 17 years, could be heard cheering and clapping in the studio after the Winning Wheel stopped spinning.

Kyllee King-Turner had lunched with Mr and Mrs Hough on Saturday before the draw and said “it couldn’t have happened to nicer people”.

Mr Hough said that the experience had been wonderful and singled out their stay at the Duxton Hotel.

“The staff went out of their way for us. Sunday morning at breakfast we got a hug from the maitre de and the waitress bought over a congratulations card that had been signed by everybody.”

We’re just ecstatic for the Houghs,” said Ms Morgan-Banda. “As the winners can wait up to 8 weeks to spin the Wheel after claiming their ticket, we get to know them well and really share their excitement and celebrations.”

The Winning Wheel winner’s prize for draw 904, Saturday, 23 October:

Mrs Helen Hough from Tauranga won $500,000.

The Winning Wheel winning serial number for draw 904 from Papakura was claimed early on Sunday 24 October.

Winning Wheel ticket serial numbers still to be claimed from previous draws:

Store Town Serial Number Raureka Lotto & Superette Hastings 626-27422219-20XX Schofields Paper Power Papatoetoe638-38157825-20XX Unichem Waiheke Pharmacy Waiheke Island 667-17237250-20XXS St Andrew's Dairy Hamilton 674-64765188-20XX

For official Lotto results, please visit http://www.nzlotteries.co.nz or your local Lotto store.

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