A MAN was so glued to the TV that he didn’t realise he had just scooped a powerball lottery win of £5 million.
The lucky New Zealander took home the lotto sum at the weekend and even kept it secret from his wife as a result of his foolishness.
The unnamed man from Auckland claimed he was taken by surprise.
He said: “I didn’t pay any attention to the Lotto results that evening as I was too busy watching the rugby – Blues versus Crusaders.”
However, the next morning he was strangely bombarded with lottery emails.
He said: “One said I’d won a major prize, which seemed odd.
“I thought maybe I’d won the Mother’s Day promo prize.
“I quickly logged onto MyLotto to check my ticket and couldn’t believe it when I saw all my numbers line up.
“I was speechless – I never expected to win Powerball.”
The man initially kept his wife in the dark about the major scoop.
But he later admitted he was waiting until her special Mother’s Day lunch to share the news with their family.
He said “At first, they couldn’t believe it.
“They thought it was a joke.
“But after I showed them my ticket and replayed the draw on my phone, and they could see it happen, they realised it was real.
“My wife was very happy.
“She wondered how I managed to keep it so quiet, but I’m good at keeping a secret.”
In Australia and New Zealand, Mother’s Day falls on the second Sunday of May every year.
The couple will reportedly share their winnings with their family and donate some of it to charity.