Otago Family Claim ‘Absolutely Unreal’ $5.3 Million Powerball Prize

An Otago family has come forward to claim the second Powerball jackpot of 2026, describing their $5.3 million win as ‘absolutely unreal.’

One of the family members says she buys a $6 ticket twice a week, which is a mixture of special birthday numbers and randomly chosen numbers.

“It’s saved in my MyLotto account with our family name at the top – we’ve played the same ticket for years,” she said.

It was the night of the draw that the woman found out about the win.

“My husband was out, and I just happened to check our ticket going to bed.

“The draw played and I saw it was a winner, so I took a screenshot and closed the app.

“I guess I didn’t really register what was happening, I kept staring at the screenshot and the large number at the top, not quite believing what I was seeing.

“I tried to log back in and check again, but MyLotto had closed for the night.”

The woman waited for her husband to get back and showed him the screenshot.

“He didn’t believe me at all, he said ‘nah, that can’t be real – I’m off for a shower,’ and off he went!”

It wasn’t until the next morning, when MyLotto reopened, that the couple finally confirmed the news.

“As soon as MyLotto opened we logged in to check… and then we checked again, and again, and again,” she laughed. “It felt absolutely unreal. It’s a lifechanging moment.”

Their next step was to tell their children the good news, so they invited them round for dinner.

“We sat them down and said, ‘we have some news to share with you.’

“My plan was to replay the draw on my phone so they could see the ticket, but before I could, my husband blurted out ‘we’ve won 5.3 million dollars!’

“One of the kids shouted, ‘I knew it!’”

Tears and hugs followed, and the family celebrated over dinner and chatted into the night.

“As much as we celebrated and talked about what it meant for us, it still didn’t really feel real – I don’t suppose it will for a while,” said the woman.

The family are planning to take some time to think about their future before making any decisions.

“We’re going to put the majority of in a term deposit for now while we think about what we’d like to do – but we will set aside a small amount for a little splurge,” she said.

© Scoop Media