By Eliza Mcphee For Daily Mail Australia
02:36 23 Jun 2023, updated 07:15 23 Jun 2023
- Sydney father bought ticket online
- Newsagencies are often flooded when Powerball jackpot announced
A father who is now $100million richer after winning the Powerball jackpot bought his ticket online – shutting down pervasive conspiracy theories players have a better chance if they buy an entry at a newsagency.
The mystery man, from Bankstown in south west Sydney, was Thursday’s lucky winner, and now plans to buy himself a new house. He said he had to slap himself in the face to convince himself he wasn’t dreaming.
The anonymous dad’s ticket was the only division one winner in Thursday night’s Powerball, Australia’s second largest lottery draw ever. His winning 6-game QuickPick entry was purchased online at thelott.com.
Many believe they’ve got a better chance of picking the winning numbers through purchasing an entry in stores, with The Lott confirming about two thirds of all lottery tickets are bought in retail outlets.
Interestingly, the same figures apply to winners.
‘When we look across the division one wins, we see those same percentages – about two-thirds of division one wins are from in-store entries, while a third are from online entries,’ The Lott’s spokesperson Matt Hart told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Ultimately, it makes no difference where you buy your entry. It’s all decided by the numbers that fall out of the barrel on the night and whether they match your entry.’
Earlier this week a man won $2.5million after picking up his ticket from the Here’s Luck Lottery Centre in Cloverdale, Western Australia.
Another man scored $20million after purchasing his ticket at the BP Prahran, in Melbourne last week.
Another player from Adelaide won $10million in March after picking up an entry from Kylie Brown’s Newsagency in Bayside Shopping Village at Glenelg.
A mother from Esk, north of Brisbane, took home $5.2million after her ticket from the Esk Newsagency had the winning numbers.
Newsagencies around the country are often flooded with Aussies desperate to get their hands on a potentially life-changing ticket when a Powerball is announced.
Queues at some lottery venues stretched out the door on Thursday.
But along with Thursday’s jackpot winner, there have been a string of other Aussies who’ve won the lottery online.
A group of eight mates in their 40s won $30million after buying their tickets from Western Australia’s lottery service, Lotterywest.
A man from Camden, NSW, pocketed $30million after making an entry online in April.
A woman from Echuca, in northern Victoria, is $40million richer after buying her PowerHit entry online in February.
To win the Powerball division one prize a player needs to select all seven winning numbers and the all important Powerball number.
The chances of taking the top prize are one in 134, 490, 400.
The Lott spokesperson Anna Hobdell said half of all Australian adults were expected to have bought a ticket for Thursday’s Powerball.
It is only the sixth time Powerball has offered a $100 million prize in the game’s 27-year history.