About an hour into the New Year, a Wagga Wagga woman in her late 20s discovered she had stepped into 2021 as a newly-minted multi-millionaire having won a $9.8 million Powerball prize.
The Riverina region resident held the only division one winning entry across Australia in Powerball draw 1285, drawn Thursday 31 December 2020. The entry scored the entire $9,835,085.97 jackpot.
As the ticket was unregistered, officials from The Lott were unable to make contact with the winner last night. However this morning, the happy winner made contact to claim her prize.
“Woohoo!” she exclaimed.
“I can’t believe it. Thank you. It’s been quite a night! I haven’t had a lot of sleep.
“I was with some friends after midnight, and I was just trying to find something in my bag. I saw my ticket and thought maybe the results were out.
“I checked the ticket on the app but initially didn’t how much I’d won. I had to get my friend to check.
“It’s just unbelievable!
“This ticket is maybe the third Powerball ticket I’ve ever bought. I just thought, it’s the end of the year and I should try my luck.”
While almost $10 million is about to land in her bank account, the winner declared there was only one priority today.
“I really just need to get some sleep,” she laughed.
“I don’t know what exactly I’m going to do with my prize. I’m going to sit down and make a plan.
“All I know is my life is really going to change! It’s a great way to start 2021!”
The winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, purchased her entry at Lucky Crow Lotto, Kiosk K16, Wagga Wagga Marketplace, 87 Baylis Street, Wagga Wagga.
Lucky Crow Lotto owner David Ritter said he and his team were thrilled to discover one of their customers had become a multi-millionaire on New Year’s Eve.
“This is the first division one winning entry we’ve sold. We’re very excited,” he said.
“The crow is a bit of a symbol of Wagga Wagga, which is why we called our outlet Lucky Crow Lotto. It’s great to see that luck has landed for a Wagga Wagga resident.
“We wish our winner all the best with their prize. We can’t wait to sell our next division one!”
The winning numbers in Powerball draw 1285 on Thursday 31 December 2020 were 1, 11, 28, 8, 7, 2 and 16. The all-important Powerball number was 7.
Across Australia, there was one division one winning entry in Powerball draw 1285 – the entry from New South Wales.
The Lott’s division one winning tally has now reached 211 so far this financial year, including 58 won by NSW Lotteries customers.
Between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020, 14 Powerball division one winners across Australia pocketed more than $526.29 million in prize money.
During this time, Powerball offered a $150 million jackpot, the largest prize ever offered by an Australian lottery game, which was shared by three division one winners.
Of the 14 Powerball division one winning entries in FY20, seven landed in Queensland, four in New South Wales, two in Victoria and one in South Australia.
