Two lucky Lotto tickets are worth more than $19 million each after the bumper $38 million Powerball jackpot was struck tonight.
Two players will each bank $19,142,857.
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The locations of where the winning tickets were sold will be released shortly. One person won Division 2, winning $59,322. And the winning numbers were: 5, 7, 14, 17, 22, 29. The bonus ball was 9 and the Powerball was 2.
Are you a winner? The $38m Powerball jackpot would have been the second-equal largest payout of Lotto NZ history if won by a single ticket, after two ticket holders split the same figure in 2017. Meanwhile, the Dairy Flat Food Mart & Liquor store in Albany, which sold the winning $44m ticket in 2016, had been flat out recently.
A spokesman for the business told yesterday it had been "absolutely crazy" with hopeful punters buying tickets for the mammoth draws. "On Sunday we were busy, busier than normal," he said. "Yesterday we were quite busy and today from the morning we've been quite busy." It was expected that over 1.7 million tickets had been sold for tonight's draw. There have been 12 Powerball winning tickets this year, the largest pocketed by a Taranaki woman, who struck big in a $22.3m jackpot in January and spent a month holidaying in Europe with family afterwards. Next, she's heading to Japan for the Rugby World Cup semis and final - hopefully, played and won by the All Blacks. "It's been a bit of a whirlwind year — a complete rollercoaster of emotions. Even now, I still can't quite believe it happened," the woman said. "I've got my whole life ahead of me, so I want to make sure that whatever I do next is something that love and enjoy." More than 1.7 million tickets were expected to be sold for a chance to claim Wednesday night's draw, Lotto NZ said. Around 1.6m ticket sales for Saturday's unclaimed $32m draw, the equivalent of each Aucklander buying one ticket. Financial advisers have been warning potential winners to avoid putting all their eggs in one basket or splurging all their new-found cash if they win big. The advice has been - to get advice before living it up large. "It's pretty cliche that people who come into money end up broke, so getting advice from qualified people is the first step," Matt Henry, head of wealth management research at Forsyth Barr, told. "What you're looking for is a prudent, sensible, diversified portfolio that's going to stand you in good stead over a long period of time." Lotto NZ offers an advice booklet to winners with tips about how to handle their winnings wisely. All Powerball winners were invited to visit Lotto NZ's Auckland office to claim their prize, spokeswoman Kristen Robinson said. There, winners were given tips, tricks and advice from Lotto NZ about adjusting to life as a Powerball winner. They would also receive a copy of Lotto NZ's winner's book, filled with things to think about over the coming days, weeks and months.
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Poll: Should the government levy industries that contribute to financial hardship?
As reported in the Post, there’s a $30 million funding gap in financial mentoring. This has led to services closing and mentors stepping in unpaid just to keep helping people in need 🪙💰🪙
One proposed solution? Small levies on industries that profit from financial hardship — like banks, casinos, and similar companies.
So we want to hear what you think:
Should the government ask these industries to contribute?
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58.9% Yes, supporting people is important!
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26.3% No, individuals should take responsibility
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14.8% ... It is complicated
Have you got New Zealand's best shed? Show us and win!
Once again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for New Zealand’s best shed! Send in the photos and the stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever upcycled spaces, potty potting sheds and colourful chicken coops. The Resene Shed of the Year 2026 winner receives $1000 Resene ColorShop voucher, a $908 large Vegepod Starter Pack and a one-year subscription to NZ Gardener. To enter, tell us in writing (no more than 500 words) why your garden shed is New Zealand’s best, and send up to five high-quality photos by email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close February 23, 2026.
Even Australians get it - so why not Kiwis???
“Ten years ago, if a heatwave as intense as last week’s record-breaker had hit the east coast, Australia’s power supply may well have buckled. But this time, the system largely operated as we needed, despite some outages.
On Australia’s main grid last quarter, renewables and energy storage contributed more than 50% of supplied electricity for the first time, while wholesale power prices were more than 40% lower than a year earlier.
[…] shifting demand from gas and coal for power and petrol for cars is likely to deliver significantly lower energy bills for households.
Last quarter, wind generation was up almost 30%, grid solar 15% and grid-scale batteries almost tripled their output. Gas generation fell 27% to its lowest level for a quarter century, while coal fell 4.6% to its lowest quarterly level ever.
Gas has long been the most expensive way to produce power. Gas peaking plants tend to fire up only when supply struggles to meet demand and power prices soar. Less demand for gas has flowed through to lower wholesale prices.”
Full article: www.theguardian.com...
If even Australians see the benefit of solar - then why is NZ actively boycotting solar uptake? The increased line rental for electricity was done to make solar less competitive and prevent cost per kWh to rise even more than it did - and electricity costs are expected to rise even more. Especially as National favours gas - which is the most expensive form of generating electricity. Which in turn will accelerate Climate Change, as if New Zealand didn’t have enough problems with droughts, floods, slips, etc. already.
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