Queues have already begun forming outside lottery outlets across the country as players vie for their chance to make Australian lottery history by taking home tonight’s record-breaking $150 million Powerball prize.
Thousands of entries a minute are expected to be generated in lottery outlets and online today as players scramble to get a ticket before the draw closes at 7.30pm AEST tonight.
As it’s the biggest prize ever offered by an Australian lottery game, the Lott spokesperson Lauren Cooney said up to half of all Australian adults were expected to have their hands on an entry in tonight’s $150 million draw.
“Ever since the Powerball jackpot soared to $150 million after last week’s jackpot prize eluded players, Aussies have wasted no time securing their chance to become the country’s biggest individual lottery winner,” she said.
“We know many of our retailers have put on extra staff and are opening longer hours simply to accommodate the demand we’re seeing for this draw. There have already been lines out the doors of some outlets and these are only going to grow as the clock ticks towards the draw close.
“We’re also seeing this excitement mirrored online, where we expect ticket sales to continue to climb right up until the 7.30pm AEST deadline.
“With this in mind, if you do want the chance to win this mammoth prize, my advice is to act fast and don’t leave purchasing your entry until the last minute.
“Last Thursday we saw sales in store and online peak at 4:59pm when more than five thousand tickets were sold in 60 seconds. We expect it to be even busier this afternoon.”
Ms Cooney said Powerball officials would be eagerly awaiting the results of tonight’s draw and standing by ready to reach out to any registered division one winners.
“We’ve had eight Powerball division one winners so far this year who have pocketed more than $316 million. We’re ready, willing and able to crown our ninth Powerball division one winner – maybe it will be tonight!” she said.
“The high volume of entries we’re seeing into tonight’s draw does increase the chance that someone out there is holding the winning combination of numbers needed to win division one.
“For anyone buying an entry, I recommend that you register your entry to a player card. This means I can give you a call straight after the draw with the life-changing news if you’re holding a division one winning entry.’
Powerball draw 1218 closes at 7:30pm AEST on Thursday 19 September 2019.
Tickets can be purchased at any licensed lottery outlet, online from thelott.com or via the Lott mobile app.
The Lott’s division one winning tally across all Australian lottery games has now reached 263 so far this calendar year.
In the 12 months to 30 June 2019, 10 Powerball division one winners across Australia pocketed more than $398.5 million in prize money.
During this time, the biggest individual Powerball prize was $107,575,649.08, which was won by a Sydney healthcare worker on 17 January 2019. Her windfall set a new record for Australia’s biggest individual lottery winner.
Victoria and New South Wales each enjoyed three division one wins, while Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania each scored one.
The home of Australia’s Official Lotteries, the Lott operates and markets Australia’s leading lottery games customers know and love creating everyday winners, winning every day.
In the 12 months to 30 June 2019, more than 131.8 million winners took home more than $3.3 billion in prize money from their favourite games at the Lott, including TattsLotto, Monday and Wednesday Lotto, Powerball, Oz Lotto, Set for Life, Lucky Lotteries, Keno, Super 66, Lotto Strike and Instant Scratch-Its.
In the 12 months to 30 June 2019, Australia’s Official Lotteries contributed more than $1.4 billion via state lottery taxes and donations to help community initiatives, such as hospitals, health research, disaster relief and education.
