One hundred and seventy-five days after the winning numbers were drawn, an anonymous player has claimed their $55 million Powerball prize.
The elusive winner stepped forward today holding their winning entry that won Powerball draw 1130 on Thursday 11 January 2018.
Today’s development brings to a close more than five months of speculation as to the whereabouts of the Powerball multi-millionaire.
It also comes just seven days before the $55 million was due to be transferred to the Victorian State Revenue Office. Under Victorian regulations, players have six months to claim their prize directly from Tatts.
But exactly who the winner is, where they’ve been and what they plan to do with their multi-million-dollar payday will forever remain a mystery as they have chosen to remain completely anonymous and celebrate in private.
Tatts reminds players of the importance of registering their tickets to a Tatts Card so all of their prizes are secure and they can be contacted directly with the good news of a big win.
Powerball spokesperson Bronnie Spencer said she was ecstatic the winner had finally been united with their prize.
“We’re in the business of paying prizes so it’s an absolute pleasure to finally deliver this multi-million dollar win to the rightful owner,” she said.
“It’s fair to say this is the prize that has captured the imagination of the nation during the past five months. Everyone has been wondering who the mystery winner is and also dreaming what they would do with the prize.
“While the prize has been claimed, the mystery continues as the reason behind the delay in coming forward has not be revealed. Nor will we know exactly how the winner’s multi-million-dollar dreams have come true.”
The winner purchased their unregistered Powerball entry from Scole Lotto & News, Shop 6, 90-106 Sydney Road, Brunswick.
Scole Lotto & News owner Sam Misiano said he was relieved that the elusive winner had finally come forward to claim their prize.
“Oh my god! That is just fantastic” he exclaimed as he exhaled a huge sigh.
“What a relief! We still won’t know who bought the ticket, if it was a regular or a visitor but it’s just great knowing that it has been claimed and they can enjoy it.
“What fantastic news. Good on them! $55 million bucks for them to enjoy. I’m so happy!
“It has been a crazy few months but now we can relax knowing it has been claimed by the rightful winner!”
The Melbourne entry was the only winning entry in Powerball draw 1130 on Thursday 11 January 2018, which offered a $55 million jackpot – the highest Australian lottery jackpot in more than a year.
The winning numbers in Powerball draw 1130 on Thursday 11 January 2018 were 32, 7, 5, 34, 38 and 11, while the all-important Powerball number was 12.
Across Australia there were only one winning entry in Powerball draw 1130.
Last financial year, 18 Powerball division one winning entries across the Lott’s jurisdictions won more than $249 million.