Pauline Cumming [left] and Janet Fail sell Lotto tickets at Pain and Kershaw Four Square Martinborough. PHOTO/SUE TEODORO
One lucky Martinborough resident hit the jackpot on Saturday with a first division winning ticket bought at the town’s only Lotto outlet, Pain and Kershaw Four Square on Jellicoe St.
The $1 million winning Lotto first division prize was won by a local man.
The lucky winner, who wants to remain anonymous, said he picked up the ticket on Saturday afternoon as part of his normal routine.
The next morning his partner told him a ticket bought in Martinborough had won. Things moved quickly from there for the pair.
“My partner and I were having breakfast at home on Sunday morning when she said, ‘Did you see that someone in Martinborough won Lotto first division last night?’,” the winner said.
“I didn’t think it could be me, but it was enough to make me grab my ticket and check the numbers. As I checked the ticket, my eyes were instantly drawn to one line. It didn’t take long for me to see all the winning numbers were there, lined up perfectly.”
The man said it took a minute for the truth to sink in, but he shared the good news pretty quickly.
“I said to her, ‘you know that Lotto winner in Martinborough? I think it’s me!’”, he said.
“She couldn’t believe it – she hadn’t even realised I was checking my ticket. We sat at the table and checked the ticket together. After taking a good look at the ticket she looked at me and said, ‘Wow – I think you’re right.’”
The lucky punter tucked the lucky ticket safely into his chest pocket before heading off to confirm the win.
On Sunday evening the pair celebrated their windfall with a bottle of bubbles.
The winner has already decided where the funds will go.
“We’re going to be able to pay off the mortgage – it’s an incredible feeling knowing that will be gone!” he said.
It is the fifth first division win for the lucky Lotto shop, although owner Conor Kershaw said a good number of second division tickets had also been sold there. The last time first division was hit by a winner sold there was in March 2017.
Kershaw said he heard about the win from one of the team at the shop at about 9pm on Saturday evening. The team member had heard from a friend who had rung her.
“We all hoped it would go to a local person,” he said.
“We haven’t had a win for a while. The team are really happy. They are really excited the ticket was sold by us.”
“We hope by selling the ticket we have helped change someone’s life,” he said.
The shop had been selling Lotto tickets for almost 40 years.
