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Discarded Christmas Present Brings $75,000
17 January 2006
Discarded Christmas Present Brings $75,000
A forgotten Christmas present, an Instant Kiwi ticket, left sitting on a kitchen counter for a month, has made its owner $75,000 richer says NZ Lotteries Chief Executive Trevor Hall.
The winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, says he almost didn't bother scratching it. "I got two tickets for Christmas, I scratched one on Christmas morning and it didn't win anything. After that I forgot about the second one and I put it on the counter."
The winner says his partner encouraged him to scratch the forgotten $4 Scrabble ticket four weeks after he was given it.
"We couldn't believe it, and became quite emotional when we had it confirmed. It's something you don't get to feel very often and it's fantastic."
The winner plans to use the money for a deposit on a house.
The ticket was sold by from Books 'n' More Upper Hutt in Wellington.
Another huge Instant Kiwi prize was claimed this week. $100,000 was won on Sunday on a Double Crossword Aqua ticket. The winning ticket was sold by United Video in Gore.
Instant Kiwi games were introduced to New Zealand in September 1989. On average around seven major Instant Kiwi prizes are won each week.
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