The winner bought the ticket on the morning of Sunday 20th August at Stevensons Paper Plus in Motueka. After having a busy day caring for a sick lamb, she didn’t get round to scratching the ticket until that evening.
“I scratched off a few words on the Viva Italia ticket and thought it would be great to win just $50,” says the winner.
“Eventually I realised that I had ten words scratched and that I was a $75,000 winner,” she adds.
“I tried to ring my partner and my sister but couldn’t get hold of either of them, and when I went to check the ticket, the Lotto terminal was off for the night,” she says.
After a night of nursing the lamb and thinking about the Instant Kiwi win, the winner managed to get the ticket checked on Monday and claim her $75,000 prize.
“I phoned the bank straight away and asked if I would be able to get a mortgage for a house with $75,000 and they said yes,” she laughs.
“So I bought a house and I complete the purchase later this month, it’s been brilliant!”
The winner is looking forward to a bright new future in her new house and was also pleased that the sick lamb had survived.
There are two top prizes remaining on the $5 Viva Italia ticket.
