A Tauranga couple hit the jackpot last weekend, winning half of a $10 million prize and sharing it with an Auckland family.

Both claimed their prizes within hours of each other on Sunday. Each took home $5.25 million, which they will use to buy their first homes.

 Each prize was made up of $5 million from the Powerball First Division and $250,000 from the Lotto First Division.
 
The Tauranga couple, who are not regular players, say they are still in shock and can’t believe their luck.
 
“We don’t buy tickets regularly; we just picked one up as we were near the dairy; I’d say ‘it’s only the third ticket we’ve ever bought,’” said the woman.
 
The couple has been working hard to prepare for the future and says this win will change their lives.
 
“We don’t own a house, and we’ve been working very hard and studying to create the life we want.”
 
After the draw on Saturday night, the woman checked their ticket, initially thinking they had won the Lotto First Division.
 
“I opened MyLotto, pulled up the winning numbers, and began checking our ticket.”
 
“We got all six and I was so excited, I said to my husband ‘we’ve won Lotto First Division.’”
 
Then she looked again and realised they had also matched the correct Powerball number.
 
“I was in such shock that I just froze; I didn’t know what to say or do!” said the woman.
 
With their win safely claimed, they look forward to celebrating and planning for the future.
 
“We’re going to celebrate by throwing a big party for our families,” she said.
 
An Auckland family that shared the other half of the jackpot is also considering buying a first home after the life-changing win.
 
They checked their ticket while out for their usual breakfast on Sunday morning.
 
“After our breakfast, we went to the mall to pick up a few groceries, and I said to my partner that we should remember to check our ticket while we were there.”
 
“We keep them in the sun visor in the car,” he said.
 
The family went to the supermarket and checked their ticket under the checker.
 
“My partner turned to me with a big grin and said, ‘We should take this to the counter!’ I still didn’t have a clue what was going on, but I think she did,” said the man.
 
The Lotto operator put their ticket through the machine, and the winning music was played.
 
“Then she put up the closed sign… and I still didn’t twig. I thought we’d maybe won $1,000 and she might have needed to get authorisation to pay that amount.
 
“The manager came and confirmed that we’d won $5.25 million, and some paperwork would be required. It was definitely not what I was expecting, so I just said, ‘Woah, I need to go for a walk.'”