Two Kiwi Families Share $10 Million Powerball Jackpot

Two Kiwi families are celebrating life-changing wins after sharing New Zealand’s $10 million Must Be Won Powerball jackpot.

The winning tickets belonged to families from Richmond, near Nelson, and Wellington, with each collecting more than $5 million after the jackpot rolled down to Powerball Second Division.

Nobody won Powerball First Division outright in the Saturday draw, meaning the $10 million jackpot had to be distributed to winners in the next eligible division.

Richmond Family Syndicate Wins $5.14 Million

The biggest of the two prizes went to a family syndicate from Richmond made up of parents and their adult children.

Their 10-line ticket covered Powerball numbers one through 10 and ultimately delivered a total prize of $5,147,853.

That included $5,014,323 from Powerball First and Second Division and a further $133,530 from Lotto Second Division.

The family discovered the win while checking their ticket after lunch.

Initially, even their daughter did not believe the amount displayed on the phone.

According to the family, there was plenty of excitement once everyone realised the win was genuine.

The family has indicated that some of the money could be used to pay off mortgages or help family members into new homes.

Wellington Family Takes Home More Than $5 Million

The second winning ticket belonged to a Wellington family, who checked their ticket the following evening.

Their total prize came to $5,027,676, consisting of $5,014,323 from Powerball First and Second Division and another $13,353 from Lotto Second Division.

The couple initially struggled to understand how they had won such a large amount because they had not matched all six Lotto numbers.

After checking the results online, they discovered that the Powerball jackpot had rolled down and they were one of just two winning tickets.

The man described the result as a major shock, while the couple reportedly had difficulty sleeping that night.

They have not yet made firm plans for the money and said they intend to take some time before deciding what comes next.

Final Winners of New Zealand’s 10-Ball Powerball

The result also has a place in New Zealand Lotto history.

Saturday’s draw was the final Powerball game played using 10 Powerball numbers before Lotto NZ moved to a new 14-ball format.

The result follows several major New Zealand lottery wins this year, including an Ashburton player who claimed a NZ$28.6 million Powerball jackpot in June.

The two families therefore became the final major winners under the previous version of the game.

The first draw using the expanded Powerball format took place on Wednesday, 16 September.

Adding more Powerball numbers changes the chances of matching the Powerball and represents one of the biggest changes to the game in years.

While Lotto and online casino games offer very different experiences, New Zealand players looking at other forms of online gaming can compare online casinos available to Kiwi players and learn more about their games, payment options and current offers.

For the Richmond and Wellington families, however, the timing could hardly have been better.

The final 10-ball Must Be Won draw may have marked the end of an era for New Zealand Powerball, but for two Kiwi households it also marked the beginning of a very different financial future.