A Gladstone woman who scored $20 million in last night’s Powerball draw has confessed she almost didn’t put on her ticket of favourite numbers because she hadn’t won anything lately.
The New South Wales resident held the only division one winning entry in Powerball draw 1455 on Thursday 4 April 2024. She pocketed the entire $20 million jackpot.
“You know what? I was going to do away with that ticket because I hadn’t been winning anything lately,” the woman shared when an official from The Lott made contact with her this morning.
“It’s got a couple of birthdays in there but they’re just the same numbers I’ve been playing over and over for a very long time. I’ve been putting them in each week, but recently thought I might completely get rid of it.
“But then I thought, ‘I think I’ll keep it for another week. I might be lucky!’.
“I still can’t believe it. I think I’m in fairyland.
“I got up this morning and checked my ticket. I looked at it and then ran to my family and said, ‘I’ve won $20,000!’. They looked at it and then looked at me and said, ‘No you haven’t. You’ve won $20 million!’.
“I would have been happy with the $20,000 I thought it was!”
When asked what $20 million might do for her and her family, the woman began crying happy tears thinking about what the multi-million-dollar prize could do for her nearest and dearest.
“You’ve got no idea!” she cried.
“I want to get a house and I’d love to go travelling around the world.
“I’ve been waiting for one of your calls for years.
“I keep thinking I’ll wake up and I’ll be back in reality.
“I’m just coming to terms with it!”
The woman’s winning marked 14-game entry was purchased at Gladstone Newsagency & General Store, 15 Ashton Street, Gladstone.
Gladstone Newsagency & General Store owners Kevin and Robyn McNaught said they were celebrating selling their first multi-million-dollar winning ticket.
“We’re feeling upbeat this morning as selling division one prizes does not come along often enough,” Kevin said.
“Robyn and I are excited to know we have played a part in changing someone’s life.
“We’ve had two division one wins now in two years, so we feel like we’re on a roll.
“We last sold a division one winning entry in March 2023, which was a $1 million prize in Monday & Wednesday Lotto. But this is the first multi-million-dollar prize we’ve sold in over 17 years that we have been a lottery outlet.
“Congratulations to our winner and we can’t wait to sell another division one winning ticket!”
The winning numbers in Powerball draw 1455 on Thursday 4 April 2024 were 7, 20, 19, 25, 10, 31 and 1. The all-important Powerball number was 11.
Across Australia, there was one division one winning entry in Powerball draw 1455 – the entry from New South Wales.
The Lott’s division one winning tally has now reached 324 so far in FY24, including 108 won by NSW Lotteries customers.
In 2023, 20 Powerball division one winning entries across Australia pocketed more than $552.15 million in prize money.
During this time, a Bankstown dad scored a $100 million jackpot and became the second-biggest Australian lottery winner of all time.
Of the 20 Powerball division one winning entries in 2023, eight landed in New South Wales, seven in Victoria, two each in South Australia and Western Australia, and one in Queensland.