There was an agonising 10-minute wait, followed by tears of joy and frantic phone calls to family, as a young Maraenui woman discovered she’d become a millionaire. 

The woman turned up at Maraenui Four Square on Monday with a Lotto ticket she had no idea was a winner and jammed the machine, sending store owner Kuljit Parihar into a frenzy. 

The $1 million Christmas Triple Dip ticket was originally purchased from Andrew Spence Pharmacy in Onekawa, and Lotto confirmed it had since been claimed. 

Parihar said when the machine jammed, staff knew the ticket had won something big, but were unable to identify the exact amount that had been won. 

So she called Lotto, and after a few agonising minutes, they told her the amount - $1 million. 

“There was so much excitement, and it was really good to reveal it.” 

The woman, “a young local girl” who is a regular customer, was frantically trying to contact her family to let them know the good news, Parihar said. 

“She was crying and telling everyone she had won.” 

Parihar said it was so good to be able to reveal the winning ticket, as they had previously sold winning tickets before, but they had not been valued anywhere near that amount. 

“We have had a few, but never $1 million.” 

While no winning First Division tickets have been sold at Maraenui Four Square, there have been some smaller prizes, including a $13,824 Lotto win in January 2023. 

Parihar was surprised when the ticket was claimed in-store, as the draw was from the previous week, but the store had since been busy with people asking about the win. 

“It is good to actually see that someone local won it.” 

The lucky winner didn’t reveal any plans regarding the money to Parihar - she said she was overwhelmed with the life-changing news. 

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.