One lucky Australian has won $150 million on the Powerball, the largest ever single-person lottery win in the country’s history.
But the identity of the new multi-millionaire remains a “mystery” to Lottery officials – and there is every possibility the player also has no idea they have won.
All that’s known is that the person lives in South Australia and bought the ticket from a licensed lottery outlet in Adelaide.
“Someone has become Australia’s biggest individual lottery winner and possibly doesn’t know it yet. Can you imagine unwittingly walking around with a ticket worth $150 million?” The Lott spokesman Khat Intrachai said.
“There are 150 million reasons why all South Australian players who had an entry in tonight’s draw should check their ticket as soon as possible.”
The South Australian winner held the only division one winning entry in Powerball draw 1462 on 23 May 2024.
However, as the entry was not registered to a player card or online account, The Lott said it “remains a complete mystery” as to the person’s identity.
The organisation reminded players of the importance of registering their tickets to a player card or online account so their prizes are secure, and they can be contacted directly with the good news of a big win.
In South Australia, lottery winners have 12 months to claim their prize directly from The Lott. After that time, there is a process to claim the prize directly from the South Australian Government.
The winning numbers in Powerball draw 1462 on Thursday 23 May 2024 were 18, 29, 34, 8, 4, 28 and 6. The all-important Powerball number was 11.
There were nine winning ticketholders who claimed second prize, each walking away with $276,036.95.
While the 261 third place ticket holders will claim $11,833.85 each.
The jackpot reached the mammoth prize after there were no division one winners during the past six Powerball draws.
Up to half of Australian adults were expected to have a bought a ticket in the hopes of winning Thursday’s prize draw.
More than half of last year’s division one winners invested money for the future, 40 per cent helped family and friends, 35 per cent bought a new car, and 26 per cent paid off their mortgage or bought a new home.
One winner paid for a cruise for the whole family one week after Christmas, taking 38 of their nearest and dearest on a voyage out to sea.
Another winner revealed they got to live out a lifelong dream and travelled to the Monaco Grand Prix.