Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Video | Agriculture | Confidence | Economy | Energy | Employment | Finance | Media | Property | RBNZ | Science | SOEs | Tax | Technology | Telecoms | Tourism | Transport | Search

 

Winning Streak For Palmerston North’s Luckiest Lotto Store

Palmerston North is on a winning streak and there’s one store that’s been particularly lucky lately – do you buy your lucky yellow tickets there?

Melody’s New World has sold three big winning tickets in just three months and two of those were Powerball First Division tickets!

Store Representative, Morgan Melody says they have never been busier.

“We’ve always had our regular customers who have been buying their tickets from us since Lotto opened in the store, but since these big wins, we’re definitely busier!”

After selling four Second Division tickets earlier in the year, the store sold its first ever winning Powerball ticket in August’s Must Be Won draw. The mammoth $50 million prize was shared between ten lucky winners who each took home just over $5 million.

“It’s feels incredible to have sold these winning tickets and knowing that it’s going to change people’s lives,” says Morgan.

“It’s such a close-knit community here, our winners do tend to come back to us to claim their prize, which is always exciting for us. It’s amazing to know that it’s going to someone in our community.”

More recently, a $14.3 million Powerball ticket sold by the store was claimed by a local woman who bought the ticket when she went grocery shopping.

The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, only picks up a ticket a few times a year and grabbed a Triple Dip for the draw that Wednesday evening.

“I had some change in my pocket, so I thought ‘oh why not, I’ll get a Lotto ticket,’” said the woman.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

She checked her ticket after the draw, manually underlining the numbers until she noticed, they all lined up.

“I was pretty shocked to see all of those numbers line up, I just kept saying ‘no way, never me, no chance,’ I really couldn’t believe it.”

The woman shouted her husband through and showed him the ticket without saying a word – she didn’t need to; he could see straight away.

“You’ve done it, you’ve gone and done it,” said the woman’s husband.

The pair burst into laughter when they realised their lives had changed forever.

The woman says she has started her bucket list and right at the top is buying their first home and helping a charity close to their hearts.

“I donate to this charity every year, and it feels amazing to know that this year the donation will be significantly higher,” said the woman.

A week on from selling their second First Division winning ticket of the year, the store scored a hattrick and sold a Lotto First Division ticket worth $333,333 – one of two Lotto First Division tickets won in the town, in the same draw, the other was sold at Pak N Save Palmerston North.

Morgan says there’s now a competition amongst Lotto staff at Melody’s New World, about who’s the luckiest Lotto operator and who’s going to sell the next big winner.

“Our Lotto staff get really excited when they know we’ve sold a big winning ticket. When we sold the $14.3 million ticket one of them texted me at 6am just to let me know!” She laughed.

“There’s a bit of healthy competition behind the Lotto counter at the moment – they’re looking forward to seeing who sells the next big one.”

Background:

Melody’s New World is ranked as the luckiest store in the Manawatu-Whanganui region and the fifth luckiest store in the country, with 29 First Division Lotto family* wins under its belt.

The winning $5,023,999 ticket was sold for the $50 Million Must Be Won draw on Saturday 15 August 2020.

The winning $14,333,333 ticket was sold for the draw on Wednesday 11 November 2020

The winning $333,333 ticket was sold for the draw on Wednesday 18 November 2020.

*Lotto family is Lotto, Powerball and Strike games.

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Business Headlines | Sci-Tech Headlines

 
GenPro: General Practices Begin Issuing Clause 14 Notices

GenPro has been copied into a rising number of Clause 14 notices issued since the NZNO lodged its Primary Practice Pay Equity Claim against General Practice employers in December 2023.More

SPADA: Screen Industry Unites For Streaming Platform Regulation & Intellectual Property Protections

In an unprecedented international collaboration, representatives of screen producing organisations from around the world have released a joint statement.More

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.