Talk in the mainly Maori community of Murupara is all about who has won more than $12 million in Saturday's Lotto draw.
Murupara in the central Bay of Plenty has a population of about 2000 people.
The Murupara winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, says he had to ask his boss for the day off on Monday so he could travel to Wellington to claim the prize.
A former councillor for Murupara and Galatea, Jacob Te Kurapa, says people in the township are very happy the prize was won by a local, and not someone travelling through.
He says speculation was rife in the town on Sunday morning, with talk in the shops, text messages doing the rounds, and excited remarks on the social networking site Facebook.
"Speculation was rife amongst the community as to who had won the $12 million and whose house was going to be loaded all of a sudden with family and friends to celebrate their success."
