An estimated half of all Australian adults have flocked to newsagents across the country to snap up a Lotto ticket ahead of tonight’s $100 million Powerball draw.
While an extremely lucky few might get a share of the mammoth prize, the one group of people who have already won are the newsagent owners who have seen queues snaking outside their shops all day.
Baljinder Singh, who runs the Nextra newsagent Westfield Plaza, Parramatta, set a lunchtime record after his till rang to the tune of $24,000.
But he still had a long way to go to beat his end-of-day high from last year when one man splurged $43,000 on Lotto tickets in one go.
Mother-of-four Pat (pictured) said she would spend the money on care for her sick husband who suffered a heart attack last month
Baljinder Singh (pictured, right), who runs the Nextra newsagent Westfield Plaza, Parramatta with his wife Indu (left) and son Parul (middle) said he had made $24,000 from Lotto sales by lunchtime on Thursday
Long snaking queues were seen outside newsagents as an estimated half of all Australian adults bought a ticket for their chance to win the $100million draw
‘It was the $90 million draw and when he showed us the cash we could’ve fainted,’ said Mr Singh.
‘He won $24,000 and came back the next day. The Lott was calling us thinking there was something shifty going on, but he had the cash, and it was legit. The next day he came back and spent another $33,000 dollars.’
Mr Singh, who runs the busy shop with his wife Indu and son Parul, was feeling lucking himself and bought a ticket too.
‘I’m greedy too like everybody,’ he admitted. ‘If I’m selling to everybody, I should buy one as well, right?’
Yet, charity trumps greed for Mr Singh and if he won he would give a lot back to his fellow countrymen and women.
‘I’m a community-minded person,’ he said.
Prosper (pictured) said he would give to charity if he won and also buy a house
Raj (pictured) would split his winnings down the middle between charity and himself
‘I’d like to travel Australia, but I’d give money back to the community as well. This country is beautiful. They call us the country down under, but we are only one step away from the heaven. So, if I win, I will be helping fellow Australians.’
Mr Singh’s son, Parul, said he would re-invest in the family business – and book a sneaky trip abroad if his own numbers came up.
‘I’d buy my dad a couple more newsagents so that he’s happy and set up, and then maybe I’d go to Hawaii, but dad doesn’t need to know about that,’ he joked.
Staff at a nearby newsagent in Granville did not exhibit such a humble work ethic in the face of unimaginable wealth.
Pom dreams: Pete, who is originally from England, said he would immediately buy back his childhood home and book a one-way ticket to the green and pleasant land for him and his family
‘All the staff buy a ticket here; we have a syndicate,’ one said.
‘And we’d quit the job, that’s the first thing we’d do.’
They might be in luck because their own newsagent sold a division one winner four months ago. The amount was undisclosed but it would have been in the millions.
Granville has also sold a total of four division one winners – the highest for any area in all of NSW.
Meanwhile, punters queued outside newsagents throughout the morning for their chance to become a millionaire overnight.
Pat, a mother-of-four who is originally from Thailand but has lived in Australia for nearly 35 years, said she was desperate to win the jackpot because her husband suffered a heart attack last month.
‘I need luck. My husband would love to have a five-star nursing home, but I don’t want him to go into a nursing home,’ she said.
‘I want him to come back home, but he needs 24-hour care and we can’t afford it. If I had $100m I would shout everything, and the care is the first thing we need.’
Pete, who is originally from the UK, said he would be buying a one-way ticket home.
Tonight is only the sixth time Powerball has offered a $100 million prize in the game’s 27-year history
‘I’d take the family back to England. Also, I’d buy my old house that I was born in in England. I just want it back,’ he said, with a wistful note in his voice.
For Pete, the idea of winning is not some unimaginable dream: a friend from England scooped a cool £23 million ($43 million) 30 years ago.
‘He bought a massive property, loads of bikes and cars, but then with the rest of it he just carried on working all the time,’ said Pete.
Elsewhere, Raj has been playing the Lotto since last year when he moved to Australia from India.
‘I’d give 50 per cent to charity and 50 per cent for me,’ he said.
‘I’m not eager for money, I work hard, and I earn by myself. The main thing is working hard. Work hard and you will win.’
Prosper said he would also give to charity but then take care of number one.
‘Buying property is number one. I have to look after myself as well, but I’d be a millionaire for the rest of my life, so I’d give back to charity as well,’ he said.
The Lott spokesperson Anna Hobdell said half of all Australian adults were expected to be queuing outside lottery outlets.
‘We haven’t seen a $100million Powerball draw since December 2022 and back then it was shared among three players who each received a life-changing $33.3million right before the new year,’ she said.
‘On that occasion, the peak of sales was at 5.38pm on the day of the draw when Aussies nabbed more than 5,500 tickets in a single minute.’
It is only the sixth time Powerball has offered a $100 million prize in the game’s 27-year history.
Tickets into Powerball draw 1414 on Thursday 22 June 2023 can be purchased at any licenced lottery outlet, online from thelott.com or via The Lott mobile app.
In 2022, 22 Powerball division one winning entries across Australia pocketed more than $764.39 million in prize money.
During this time, Powerball offered a $160 million jackpot – the biggest prize ever offered by any Australian lottery game – that was won by three division one winning entries.
Of the 22 Powerball division one winning entries in 2022, 13 landed in New South Wales, four in Victoria, two each in Queensland and Western Australia, and one in South Australia.
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