As 2018 comes to a close, the team at the Lott has reflected on the year that was at Australia’s official lotteries – and what a winning year it was!
It was 12 months of record-breaking milestones, welcomes and goodbyes, exciting game changes and of course, hundreds of division one winners!
Matthew Hart, spokesperson for the Lott, said each and every year there were hundreds of winners stories and moments that captured the attention of the nation and 2018 was no exception.
“Every year we are privileged to speak to hundreds of winners when we confirm the dream-come-true news that they have won a major prize in one of our lottery games,” he said.
“We are fortunate to hear some incredible stories, from quirky purchases and unusual superstitions to circumstances surrounding the ticket and the truly heart-warming.
“As we reflect back on 2018 and all of the wonderful winners, it’s hard not to have favourites or revisit the most memorable moments of the year.
“With 2019 fast approaching, we are sure that it will be another fantastic year for lottery winners across the country and we look forward to crowning many more!”
Top lottery moments of 2018
January
A winning entry sold at Scole Lotto & News in Brunswick claimed the entire $55 million division one in Powerball. However, the prize was unregistered and the search for the mystery winner began.
February
Instant Scratch-Its celebrated the last month of summer by bringing one of our customer’s #joyments to life when we hosted the Great Unicorn Race in sunny Queensland. Teams raced their inflatable unicorns the 25-metre length of Kings Beach Pool for the honour of being The Great Unicorn Race #joyments winner!
March
March crowned the country’s biggest division one winning private syndicate for the year. Thirty-three Queenscliff Men’s Shed members celebrated their syndicate winning division one prize of over $1.3 million in Saturday Lotto.
“Bloody hell! Excuse my French! Fair dinkum! Am I allowed to panic? Just fantastic! How much was it again? I’m in a syndicate with a few of us from the Men’s Shed. It’s great to share it with 33 people. We’ve been going in together for a long time and every time I go in to the Men’s Shed they always ask me ‘How did we go?’ and I tell them ‘It would be nice if you ask me how I am first!’”. Queenscliff man, March 2018.
April
The Lott said goodbye to a long-standing team member – the ball drawing machines used in Saturday Lotto, Monday & Wednesday Lotto, Oz Lotto and Powerball. After 20 years of loyal service, the machines were decommissioned to make way for new draw equipment.
The new equipment came with new lottery balls, equipped with radio frequency identification (RFID) that allows the new ball drawing machines to automatically and instantly ‘read’ each ball number as soon as it has been drawn.
May
The introduction of the new Powerball game structure in May helped create more winners more often along with bigger and better jackpots so winners can truly ‘play by their own rules’.
We also saw a Langwarrin woman win Set for Life, not once, but twice in the same draw! She bought an entry each for herself and her husband to celebrate their wedding anniversary using marked numbers which included dates that were special to her.
“It was our wedding anniversary and I thought I’d just buy our special numbers on our Set for Life tickets and we’d give it a go. I’ll have to take a moment because I just can’t believe it. It’s a fantastic wedding anniversary. We use marked numbers that include the dates of our wedding anniversary and kids birthdays – special dates that’s what they are.” Langwarrin woman, May 2018
June
Lotteries winners’ dreams come in all shapes and sizes as evidenced by an Eden man who won over $659,000 in Saturday Lotto and confessed all he wanted to spend his windfall on was a ‘good’ pair of sandals.
“I’ve got no idea. I might buy a pair of sandals to start with, the others are a bit shoddy. I hate shoes, I like sandals. Genuine leather ones this time, not the artificial stuff this time.” Eden man, June 2018.
July
One hundred and seventy-five days after the draw, the $55 million Powerball division one prize from January was claimed by an anonymous winner. The winner came forward just six days before the prize was due to be handed over to the Victorian State Revenue Office.
August
August was a record-breaking month at the Lott, with two massive jackpots causing a national stir. First was the biggest Oz Lotto jackpot of the year when two division one winners shared in the $70 million prize. A private family syndicate from regional Victoria took home one half, and their shopping list included a washing machine and water tank. The other was a hardworking man from Lithgow who exclaimed ‘hallelujah’ when he heard the news.
Following eight weeks of jackpotting, Powerball reached a record-breaking $100 million – the highest jackpot offered by the game in Australian lottery history. This was claimed by two winners, one each from Victoria and New South Wales, who each took home a massive $50 million in prize money.
September
In September, a Five Dock man’s premonition came true after he won the First Prize of $20,000 a year for 20 years – that’s 20K on Replay in Set for Life! The man revealed he had a dream that he had won Set for Life several weeks before the draw. He planned to use the windfall to spend more time volunteering.
“Three weeks ago I had a dream where I won Set for Life. Then yesterday when we were sitting on the beach relaxing, I looked at my wife, grabbed her hands and I said to her, ‘We are about to win something, you just wait’. After that dream, I just had this overwhelming feeling that we were going to win, and turns out I was right!” Five Dock man, September 2018.
October
A Toowoomba woman planned to work on her winning grin in October after taking home $2.32 million in a Lucky Lotteries Super Jackpot draw. The happy woman declared she planned to live life to the fullest and confessed she planned to get teeth fixed using her jackpot windfall.
“My husband will probably think about retiring early and we will spoil the kids. I would love to get my teeth done! I’m really excited to start planning for our future and to live our lives to the fullest.” Toowoomba woman, October 2018.
November
The last month of spring saw a retired Burleigh man win the entire $60 million division one prize in Powerball. It was the second highest individual division one prize in Australian lottery history and the biggest win of 2018. The winner declared he was ‘still young enough to enjoy it’ and planned to spend his retirement travelling.
December
As the year winds down, Lucky Lotteries Mega Jackpot is ramping up with the jackpot reaching over $33 million for the first time since 21 October 2011. The Lucky Lotteries Mega Jackpot and Super Jackpot games have also created 168 guaranteed first prize winners this year!
Last chance to see in 2019 as a millionaire!
There is still a chance for Aussies to see in 2019 a millionaire with the $30 million Saturday Lotto Megadraw on the 29 December 2018. The yearly Megadraw is the draw that is known for creating the most millionaires each year and with up to one-in-three adult Australians expected to have an entry into the draw it is sure to be a big one!
