$13 Million Lotto Winners Celebrate By... Buying A Rug

Is there a new rug at your parents' house?

If so, they may be Lotto's latest big winners, who celebrated a $13 million win by buying a fancy rug but kept the secret even from their children.

The Auckland couple were at Lotto's main office yesterday to claim the top prize after realising their ticket numbers lined up with the Powerball prize on Saturday.

In a statement to the Herald, they said the money had only dropped into their account yesterday morning, but admitted going all out on a new addition to the house over the weekend.

"We did go shopping at the weekend and splashed out on a beautiful new rug for our house. We've always wanted one, so it was pretty special being able to finally buy one," they said.

The couple are frequent Lotto players and purchased their winning ticket via the MyLotto website.

It is something they started doing exclusively - instead of buying them at stores - a couple of years ago, they said.

They had not shared the good news with anyone - not even their children.

Describing the moment he checked their tickets online, the husband said a bubble suddenly popped up announcing he'd won $13 million. He immediately began to shake.

"I started trembling straight away! I went to grab my wife and shook the whole way down the hall. I couldn't stop shaking.

"I said: 'You need to come and look at the computer. We've won'."

When his wife checked the computer screen, she initially thought her husband had been mistaken.

"She didn't believe me. Even when she looked at the computer, she thought we'd won $13,000. I had to point out the extra zeros!"

The happy couple spent the rest of the night lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to comprehend how much they had won and how their lives would be influenced dramatically as a result.

"It made it really easy to get up and watch the rugby on Sunday morning, as we hadn't been able to get to sleep anyway."

They will continue their full-time jobs - for the time-being, they said - and say they will spend more time travelling and enjoying their hobbies.

Asked if there was one outrageous thing they may splash out on, the husband piped up: "I'm a big racing fan and would love to head to the Melbourne Grand Prix."

The pair are the 11th players to scoop a major prize this year - officially the luckiest year for Lotto players.

- NZ Herald