Melbourne and Sydney Tickets Split Record Australia Powerball Jackpot
A new record was set for the largest jackpot in Australia Powerball history last night as two lucky ticket holders grabbed a share of the AU$100 million top prize. One of the lucky winners is from Melbourne and has already come forward to claim their share of the money, while the other bought their entry in Sydney.
What Were The Winning Powerball Numbers?
The winning numbers in the record-breaking draw were 3, 13, 27, 31, 32, 33 and 35, with Powerball 3. The jackpot had previously rolled over eight times in a row, but two players finally matched the full winning line to pocket AU$50 million each. Go to the Australia Powerball Results page for a full breakdown off all the prizes won on Thursday 16th August.
Who Were The Jackpot Winners?
It quickly emerged that the winners had bought their tickets in Victoria and New South Wales, and a man from Melbourne has wasted little time in confirming his prize. He played online through a lottery app just before sales for the draw closed, and said he was just ‘trying to remain as calm as possible’ when he was contacted by officials later.
Speaking about his plans for the money, the man, in his 20s, insisted he would be sensible to ensure that he makes the most of his incredible good luck. He said “I’m going to do the right thing. This win is life-changing. I’m going to look after my whole family - invest money in property and shares. It will make a massive difference to a lot of people.” The Melbourne-based winner chose to remain anonymous.
The second winning ticket was sold in Sydney’s Canterbury-Bankstown region and has yet to be claimed. The entry was not registered to a Players Club card so NSW Lotteries have no way to get in touch with the winner. It is now up to them to come forward and claim their AU$50 million, and officials are urging players to check their tickets.
Matt Hart, spokesperson for the Lott, said: “While we haven’t been able to confirm the win with our Sydney winner, we can guarantee that when they discover the news, their life is set to change when their bank account balloons by a whopping $50 million.
“Make sure you check your entry as soon as possible because you may not have to go to work on Monday. Instead, you could start planning how you can play by your own rules and begin your life as a multimillionaire.
“Players can check their entry at any outlet, online at thelott.com or on the Lott app. If you check your ticket and discover you are holding the winning ticket, we recommend you keep it safe and contact 131 868 to start the process of claiming your prize!”
How Did The Jackpot Get So Big?
The enormous jackpot was fuelled by phenomenal ticket sales. The Lott reported that as many as one in three Australian adults had an entry in Thursday’s draw, while many newsagents across the country had customers queueing out the door.
Rebecca Jenkinson, the manager of the Australian Gambling Research Centre, explained that it was natural for people to think they could win the jackpot despite the long odds. She told AAP: “The reason we’ve queues out the door is we’ve all got that hope and it’s nice to dream. We’ve seen people win before, we’ve heard people win before so it’s the ‘why not us?’ at play.”
The previous Australia Powerball record had been AU$80 million, set back in 2009, and the rules of the game were changed earlier this year to help create bigger jackpots. Players had previously been required to pick six main numbers from 1 to 40, but the number matrix was altered on 13th April to the current 7 from 35 format. This change made it slightly harder to match all the main numbers plus the Powerball, but to compensate a new prize tier was added to improve the overall odds of winning a prize.
It could therefore be that another AU$100 million jackpot is not too far away, but for now the top prize will reset to AU$3 million, and fans of the game will wait to see when the Sydney winner comes forward. Officials are set to reveal the specific retail outlet which sold the entry on Saturday morning.