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Summary
- A syndicate of 10 shares has won Thursday’s Powerball lottery jackpot worth AU$60 million with each person taking home AU$6 million.
- Some of the 10 winners have still not come forward and could soon lose out on the life-changing prize money, if it remains unclaimed.
- Elated winners expressed their disbelief and stated they felt that the call from lotto was a prank or scam call.
Becoming a millionaire overnight is a dream that seldom turns into reality for most people. However, not just one but ten lucky individuals have been able to experience just that, thanks to the Powerball lottery. A 10-share syndicate was able to win AU$60 million in prize, each taking home AU$6 million as their share.
Some of the winners are still unaware about the jackpot they have hit. Lotto officials stated that a few out of the lucky ten have not answered their calls. Those who did answer the late-night lotto call stated that the call was enough to “ruin a good night’s sleep”, albeit due to the excitement.
The elated winners were unable to contain their enthusiasm as most of them felt that the lotto call was a prank. The first division lottery winners are locals of Townsville in Queensland, the same place where the 10-share store syndicate was bought (at the Willow Shopping Centre). Currently in lockdown, Townsville would now be home to 10 new millionaires after the jackpot win.
The big win
The winning numbers for Powerball draw 1311 on the 1st of July were – 13, 19, 18, 17, 11, 16 and 20, and the Powerball was 15. The second division prize of AU$884,000 was much lower than the hefty AU$60 million jackpot. The division two pool was won by 24 winners, each of whom took home AU$36,838, a seemingly dismal figure compared to the division one prize. Additionally, 110 division three winners took home just under AU$5000 each.
Overwhelmed by their stroke of luck, winners displayed a gamut of reactions. One of them exclaimed, “Can I just write that down, that amount?” upon receiving the call. Another felt happy for her children and grandchildren, while some others took the life-changing announcement as a sign to retire early.
However, the unclaimed prize may soon be taken off the table if the contestants do not come forward in time. In the previously held Tatt’s Set for Life lottery, the participants were given a period of 6 months, within which they had to come forward. These participants could not be identified as they had not registered their ticket to a player card or to an online account.
Life after million-dollar jackpot
For most people, the amount of AU$6 million is enough to settle down, obviating the need to work for the rest of their lives. As stated by one of the winners, “it is good enough to retire tomorrow”. However, some of the winners expressed they would continue with their daily life even after the life-changing win.
These players are not the first Powerball winners with that ideology. A woman from Sydney, who won the Powerball prize of a whopping AU$107 million in 2019, chose to not leave her profession. The biggest individual winner in the history of Australian lottery stated that she would continue to be a working mother despite the historic win. It would be interesting to see whether the lives of these 10 Townsville individuals change or not after the monumental win.
