Aussies have already begun dreaming about what they might do if they nabbed Powerball’s mammoth $120 million prize on Thursday night.
Up to half of Aussie adults are expected to have an entry into the draw on Thursday 24 February 2022, which has the second-biggest jackpot ever offered by any Australian lottery game.
The Lott spokesperson Matt Hart said Australian lottery history could be rewritten this week.
“If there’s just one Powerball division one winner this week, they will instantly become Australia’s biggest lottery winner ever,” he said.
“This Powerball prize has captivated the nation, and I’m sure many Aussies are happily contemplating how it could transform their lives.
“We’re expecting it to get busier and busier in-store and online as we inch closer to the draw’s close on Thursday evening. For anyone wanting the chance to win this incredible jackpot, they’ll need to have a ticket in their hands by 7.30pm AEST on Thursday.”
The jackpot
- This week’s $120 million Powerball draw is the second-biggest jackpot in Australian lottery history. It’s only surpassed by a $150 million Powerball draw held in September 2019, which was won by three individuals.
- It’s the first time an Australian lottery game has offered a $120 million jackpot.
- The jackpot has soared to this level after there were no division one winning entries during the past six Powerball draws.
If there’s one winner
- If one player walks away with it all this week, they’ll become the biggest individual lottery prize winner in Australian history.
- The current titleholder is a Sydney nurse who won more than $107 million in 2019 – her story is here.
Tickets
- Up to half of Australian adults are expected to have an entry into the draw.
- For last week’s Powerball draw, the peak of sales was at 4.47pm when Aussies grabbed more than 6,000 entries in a minute.
The draw
- Powerball draw 1345 will be held on Thursday 24 February 2022.
- Entries into the draw close at 7.30pm AEST, with the draw conducted about an hour later. By 9pm AEST, it should be known if there are any division one winners.
- If there are no division one winners, the Powerball jackpot will climb higher for next week’s draw.
Australia’s 2021 lottery hotspots These are the suburbs in each state and territory that were home to the outlets that sold the most division one winning entries in 2021.
- In Victoria, the postcodes of 3004 for Melbourne, 3028 for Altona Meadows, 3429 for Sunbury, and 3199 for Frankston each sold three division one winning entries.
- In New South Wales and the ACT, the postcode of 2444 for Port Macquarie sold four division one winning entries, while 2127 for Wentworth Point/Sydney Olympic Park and 2750 for Penrith/South Penrith each sold three division one winning entries.
- In Queensland, the postcode of 4817 for Kirwan/Thuringowa sold four division one winning entries, while the postcodes of 4680 for Gladstone and 4740 for Mackay both sold three division one winning entries.
- In South Australia, the postcode of 5000 for Adelaide, 5009 for Kilkenny and 5253 for Murray Bridge each sold two division one winning entries.
- In Tasmania, the postcodes of 7310 for Devonport and 7320 for Burnie each sold two division one winning entries.
- In the top-end, the postcode of 0836 for Humpty Doo delivered the Northern Territory’s biggest 2021 prize of $35 million.
- In Western Australia, the postcode of 6330 for Albany and 6163 for Spearwood sold three division one winning entries.
Powerball’s 2021 winning states
- In 2021, 14 Powerball division one winners across Australia pocketed more than $550 million in prize money.
- Of these wins, seven landed in New South Wales, four in Queensland, two in Victoria and one in Western Australia.
QuickPick or marked entries?
- Ten of last year’s 14 Powerball division one winning entries were QuickPick entries, where the lottery terminal randomly generated the numbers on the ticket. The remaining four entries featured numbers selected by the winner.
The power of the PowerHit entry
- Half of last year’s Powerball division one wins were scored by a PowerHit entry; a ticket type unique to Powerball that guarantees the all-important Powerball number needed to win division one.
Where entries were bought
- Almost two-thirds of last year’s Powerball division one winning entries were purchased from a licenced lottery outlet. The remainder was purchased online.
Sharing success with a syndicate
- Two of last year’s Powerball division one winning entries were syndicates, or group entries, where people worked together to purchase a bigger entry that gave them more chances of winning. When the syndicate wins, the prize is shared among all syndicate members.
- Last year, a Townsville syndicate scored a $60 million Powerball prize in July, while a 55-strong group from Western Australia shared an $80 million jackpot in December.
Powerball’s hot and cold numbers
- To win Powerball’s division one prize, you need to have all seven winning numbers (drawn from the main barrel of 35 numbers) plus the Powerball (drawn from the Powerball barrel of 20 numbers) in a single game panel.
- From the main barrel, the most frequently drawn winning numbers are 17, 7, 9, 11 and 25. The least frequently drawn winning numbers are 6, 31, 15 and 33.
- For the separate Powerball barrel, the most frequently drawn Powerball number is 19, while the least frequently drawn Powerball number is 18.
Tickets can be purchased at any licenced lottery outlet, online from thelott.com or via The Lott mobile app.
