She decided to check the ticket on a quiet Saturday night, when she realized the ticket she bought herself was worth $8 million.
"There was nothing on TV, so I decided to go to bed early," she said. "I saw my Lotto ticket lying on my bedside table and decided to check it on the Lotto NZ App. I scanned the ticket and it came up 'major winner' and I started getting quite excited."
She originally thought the winning ticket was worth about $20,000 and was "very excited" but soon learned it was worth much more.
"Then I went online to read the news and saw a ticket bought at Botany New World had won $8 million," she said. "That's when I started to think, 'oh my god, it's real.'"
She quickly called her sons, who came over to celebrate the windfall, but then had to decide where she would keep the ticket until she was able to claim her prize.
"I didn't want to let the ticket go," she said.
The woman first placed it in a plastic bag to keep it from being damaged, then decided to add another layer of protection.
"Then I put it inside a Monty Python's DVD case - winning Lotto feels so surreal, I figured that was the best place for it," she said.
She then placed the DVD case underneath her pillow to ensure the ticket was close to her while she slept.
"I wasn't letting that ticket out my grasp," she said.
She rushed to Botany New World the next morning to claim her prize and once the funds were secure she said she planned to follow through on an old promise.
"I always used to tell my dad that when I win Lotto, I'm going to take him out for a nice glass of wine - in France," she said. "After I cashed in my ticket, the first person I phoned was my Dad to tell him the news - that I'd won Lotto and that we're going to France!"
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- Monty Python
