New Zealand Lucky Lottery Winner to Claim $15M Prize

Posted on: November 28, 2022, 08:52h. 

Last updated on: November 28, 2022, 01:11h.

Erik Gibbs Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

This past Saturday, a lottery player scored the NZD24 million (US$15 million) Lotto Powerball draw in New Zealand. It’s one of that lottery’s biggest scores and the 17th instant millionaire the country has produced through the lottery this year.

Lotto player
A Lotto player in New Zealand checks to see if he has a winning ticket. Someone won $15 million this past Saturday, one of the largest prizes of the year. (Image: NZ Herald)

The winner, who hasn’t come forward yet to claim the prize, purchased the ticket at a grocery store in the town of New Plymouth. The owner of the grocery store that sold it knows what he would do if he won.

Sewak Singh told media outlet Stuff that if he were to win the lottery, he would invest the money in the local community. Another employee, Jassi Singh, could score a nice bonus if the person he wanted to win the lottery won.

Biggest Prize for Taranaki

The $15M prize is a combination of two parts. One is NZD1 million (US$620,900) from the Lotto First Division and the second is NZD23 million (US$14.28 million) from the Powerball draw.

Taranaki lies on the west side of New Zealand’s North Island. The population is around 127,300, of which 87,700 live in New Plymouth.

To date, no one from Taranaki has ever won a lottery prize as big as this one. Singh pointed out that there have been some who have won NZD10,000 (US$6,200) or less. But no one ever took the main jackpot.

It’s possible that the winner isn’t even from Taranaki, because the area receives a lot of visitors from other regions of the country and elsewhere. Still, if it was local, Jassi Singh might have the opportunity to live a dream.

One of his regular customers purchased a ticket ahead of the big draw. When talking to Singh about what might happen if the unidentified female won, she made it clear that there was a plan in place.

That individual promised to take Jassi on a spectacular date. They would go to Dubai to dine in a Michelin-star restaurant, most likely traveling by first class. They would also likely stay at one of Dubai’s top hotels, possibly the Royal Bridge Suite, which runs NZD30,000 (US$18,609) a night.

Jassi’s hoping his would-be date is the winner, but doesn’t know for sure. If it is, he’ll be waiting at the grocery store for her arrival.

Be Wary of Lottery Scams

Lottery scams are among the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to committing fraud. Despite the prevalence of horror stories, many people continue to fall for them.

Police in Jamaica just took down a lottery scam ring last week, the latest in a continuing line of fraud in the gaming space that hits the industry from all angles. The US Department of Justice stated that victims in the country received phone calls to inform them they had won cash prizes of more than $1 million, but that they would need to pay fees in order to claim their winnings.

The targets fell for it, converting themselves into victims. They were given instructions on how — and to whom — they could transfer their money through wire transfers and money transmitter services.

The indictment also claimed that some victims had to purchase electronics and other expensive items, and then send them to the addresses of coconspirators. Those individuals sold the goods before sending the money to Jamaica.

The mastermind behind that scam, Anthony Stewart, has already appeared before a judge, having been extradited from his home country to the US in September. Other members of the gang continue to fall, with police arresting another criminal linked to the group this past weekend.