The record-breaking Powerball jackpot was claimed today, but our missing $1.3 million winners from two weeks ago also arrived in the Wellington NZ Lotteries office at the same time.

The Auckland couple, who wish to remain anonymous, were out of town when they saw a media story saying NZ Lotteries were looking for winners who’d bought their ticket at Pakuranga Lotto in Manukau, and thought it could be them, but forgot all about it – until this weekend!

“I had to go shopping, so checked all our tickets on the checker at the store, and it came up First Division winner – I thought maybe I’d won about $20,000 so was pretty excited,” says the winning woman.

“Then the girl at the store told me, and I showed the man behind me in the queue, and he thought it was $1,300 – but I said no, look,” she laughs.

She says that after finding out she’d won, she carried on with the shopping.

“We may have just won lots of money, but we still needed to eat – although I did buy some treats like chocolate bars, biscuits, and Angus steak. The kids could choose whatever they wanted to eat for dinner, and they chose garlic bread and biscuits!”

The couple plan on paying off their mortgage, doing a few things around the house, helping out family, and upping their donation to the SPCA, but want to be careful with their money so they can retire a few years earlier than planned.

“That $28 million is life changing, our win is life enhancing, so we’re going to do just that – enhance ours and our families’ lives,” says the wife.

Although they admit, they did make a quick stop on the way to the airport to buy some Oakley sunglasses because the husband had left his at home!