$20 Million Powerball Winner Thought His Work Called Him With a Problem — And How He Won Nearly $500,000 More That Same Night
- A man won the $20 million first prize
- He won 159 more times in other divisions
- He had bought the winning tickets hours earlier
A man who bought a lottery ticket at the last minute thought someone at work called with a problem when he discovered he had claimed the $20 million grand prize.
The Gold Coast man’s father went to bed after work on Thursday when he mistook the call from Powerball officials for a call from work.
“I thought it was someone from work calling me with a problem,” he told The Lott officials.
He had bought his ticket online just hours before the draw.
But his purchase at the 11th hour earned him not only the $20 million Division 1 prize, but also significant additional victories in the second, third and fourth divisions.
A Gold Coast man bought the $20 million Powerball winning ticket hours before he was announced to have won
The man from Oxenford, 60km south of Brisbane, routinely bought tickets to the $20 million Powerball because “it was a nice number.”
“I don’t usually play Powerball every week, but once the jackpot is over $20 million, I get an entry,” he said.
“I always thought $20 million was a nice amount, and now I know it’s a very nice number.
The best profit I’ve ever made is $100, and I was pretty happy with that. This is something else.’
On his way home from work, he had decided to continue this tradition, even if he had to buy it online – breaking the usual tradition.
“I didn’t get the chance today because I left quite late. It was after 5pm and I almost didn’t grab a ticket. I’m glad I did,” he said.
“I literally walked into the bedroom to go to bed when you called.
“I’ve always wanted a call like that.”
His Division 1 draw of $20,053,292 was immediately followed by several System 8 PowerHit QuickPick prizes.
The extra wins, which included winning division two 19 times, division three 7 times and division four 133 times, added another $442,070 to his windfall.
The man ended up winning a total of $20,495,362 in four divisions
After realizing that he had just won a total of $20,495,362, the man immediately started looking to the future.
“I’d like to retire earlier than planned, and I’d like to give the kids a home,” he said.
“I still can’t believe it – I don’t think I’ll even believe it’s real when it’s in my bank account.
“I just want to wake up in the morning and make sure it’s not a dream.”