Canberra man wins entire $50 million Powerball jackpot
A Canberra man in his 30s has won the entire $50 million Powerball jackpot.
The man said he didn’t sleep a wink on Thursday night after checking his online entry before bed and discovering he was the sole division one winner from Australia from the night's $50 million Powerball draw.
The man was “dumbfounded†and “can’t get the smile off his faceâ€. A Powerball spokesman said he understood the man "did not make it into work today''.
His marked 7-game online entry was the only division one winning entry in last night’s Powerball draw, draw 1151 on Thursday.
Thursday’s winner is the tenth Powerball division one winner so far this year. These ten winners have taken home $171 million.
The Canberra man was also one of more than 1.26 million winners from across all nine divisions in Thursday’s Powerball draw who collectively pocketed more than $72.38 million.
When an official made contact with the winner on Friday morning, the man confessed he already knew the life-changing news, having checked his entry after the draw.
“I haven’t slept a wink,†the man said.
As for what he intends to do with his $50 million fortune, the man said he would first need to let the enormity of his win to sink in.
“I’m dumbfounded. I can’t get the smile off my face.â€
The Canberra man’s win is the second largest win by an individual Australian entry so far this year.
The standing record for the largest Powerball win claimed by a single entry in Australia was set in 2016 when one ticket purchased in Hervey Bay won $70 million in Powerball draw 1025.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, purchased his online entry via OzLotteries.com. Thursday night's winner of the $50 million was the largest prize ever won by an OzLotteries customer.
The winning numbers in Powerball’s $50 million draw 1151 on Thursday were 34, 30, 14, 32, 22, 24 and 23. The all-important Powerball number was 9.
Powerball will offer a $3 million division one prize in next week’s draw.