A retired man from Burleigh Heads has confessed to being “staggered” by this evening’s revelation he is now $60 million richer after taking home the entire Powerball jackpot.
The Gold Coast local held the only division one winning entry nationally in Powerball draw 1173 landing him all of the $60 million division one prize. It’s the second largest division one prize ever won by a single entry in Australian lottery history.
Tonight’s draw also saw 1,553,830 other prizes won across divisions two to nine worth more than $27.54 million. Among these winners were two division two winners who each snared a prize of $381,369.65.
When speaking with an official from the Lott immediately after the draw this evening, the bewildered winner couldn’t contain his disbelief.
“Is this a joke? You’ve got to be kidding me surely!” he exclaimed through nervous laughter.
“That’s unbelievable! I’m a bit stunned. I don’t know what to say. I’m staggered. I can’t get my head around it.
“It’s a bit surreal really. To be honest, I’ve never thought about what I would do if I won $60 million.
“It’s a dream. You enter it and you don’t expect to win it.
“I’d better hang on tight to my ticket!”
The thrilled winner revealed that he had purchased his winning entry on a whim.
“Sometimes it’s a spur of the moment thing. I usually grab a ticket when there is a large jackpot,” he explained.
“I have been playing it on and off since the game started and have never won anything more than $600!”
When asked how he planned to spend his out-of-this-world Powerball windfall the self-confessed staggered bloke revealed it would be shared amongst his family.
“Most likely I will share it with my family and go on a real good holiday!” he exclaimed.
“I’m just staggered. I don’t know what to say.
“I’m retired, but I’m young enough that I will still have plenty of time to enjoy it.
“I’m over the moon. It’s just life-changing. I’m shaking.
“I don’t expect to get much sleep tonight!”
The thrilled winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, purchased his winning 50-game QuickPick entry from Nextra Burleigh Town News, Shop 34-35, Stocklands Burleigh, 149 West Burleigh Road, Burleigh Heads.
Nextra Burleigh Town News team member Milly Nyssen revealed she was stoked to discover her outlet had sold another division one winning entry.
“I am speechless! This is just amazing! Customers always say to us ‘sell us the winning ticket’ and today we have,” she exclaimed.
“We sold a division one winning entry worth $1.3 million in Saturday Gold Lotto in March this year so we are thrilled to have sold another one.
“We will be celebrating the amazing year that has been in a few weeks at our Christmas party and this is another big thing for us to celebrate!”
It is the second largest division one prize won by a single entry in Australian lottery history, only surpassed by a $70 million Powerball prize won by Hervey Bay grandparents in 2016.
It is the first time the $60 million Powerball jackpot has been won since 2013.
The winning numbers in Powerball draw 1173 on Thursday 8 November 2018 were 29, 35, 12, 30, 17, 23 and 15, while the Powerball number was 10.
Across Australia, there was only one division one winning entry in Powerball draw 1173 – the entry from Queensland.
The Lott’s division one winning tally has now reached 139 for this financial year.
So far in 2018 there have been 15 division one winning Powerball entries across Australia that have collectively taken home $364 million in division one prize money.