A middle-aged Adelaide man has claimed the country’s largest ever lotto win, jumping and screaming for joy after nabbing the epic $150m cash haul.
The man contacted lottery officials on Friday morning after “a sleepless night” with his winning Powerball ticket worth $150m.
“I actually had two tickets into last night’s draw. I looked at the clock last night and saw it was getting late and thought the draw should have been done by then,” he said.
“So, I checked the first one and it came up with nothing, then I scanned the second one and it said $150 million.
“I’ve never screamed so loud or jumped so high.
“This was late last night and I still haven’t slept. I’ve just kept checking the ticket.
“I normally play Powerball, so yesterday was a particularly lucky day.
“I just bought my ticket as I was filling up the car the other day and randomly bought my ticket there. I can’t believe I walked away with the winning ticket.”
Despite the win, the man said he still showed up for work on Friday morning and said he would continue to work his job.
“I’ll buy a house, want to travel the world and I’ve got a family and friends I want to help, but for now I can’t wrap my head around how big this prize is,” he said.
“This is life changing. I can’t stop smiling and pinching myself.
“I can’t believe my luck.”
The winning entry was purchased at an OTR convenience store in Salisbury in the city’s outer north.
The man held the only division one winning entry nationally in Powerball draw 1462, drawn Thursday.
In addition to the $150m division one winner, there were 4,433,211 winners across divisions two to nine draw who collectively took home more than $89.3m.
The winning numbers were 18, 29, 34, 8, 4, 28 and 6 with a Powerball of 11.
The $150 million prize is tied for the third biggest prize ever offered by the lottery game but all the more lucrative draws were won by multiple winners or syndicates.
Officials earlier said up to half of Australian adults were expected to buy a ticket as the division one prize surged on the back of six draws in a row without winners.
The Lott spokesperson Matt Hart said there had only ever been five draws offering a jackpot of $150 million or more.
“If just one person takes home this $150 million prize on Thursday night, they’ll make history by becoming the nation’s biggest-ever individual lottery winner,” he said, before the draw.
“The last time Powerball offered a $150 million prize was in January this year when the peak of sales was at 6.15pm on the day of the draw when 7455 tickets were sold in a single minute.”