If there’s one day that lottery players may avoid buying ticket, it’s Friday the 13th. After all, this is known as unluckiest day of the year – a day to stay in bed and avoid any disasters.
But for one South African player, the Powerball Plus lottery draw on Friday the 13th of May resulted in the exact opposite. The player bagged a massive R28 million jackpot prize on the day!
The anonymous winner managed to match all five numbers and the Powerball number to take home R28,145,803 on Friday the 13th.
In addition to the top prize won, it was a lucky day for several other South African lottery players. Two players managed to match the five numbers (without the Powerball number) and won R145,382.60.
Another 28 players matched four numbers and the Powerball and won R6,500.00 each. Since the Powerball Plus jackpot was hit, it was reseeded for the next draw. Players can look forward to a prize pool of at least R3 million.
While nobody won the main Powerball prize of a whopping R110 million, two lucky players managed to guess five numbers and the Powerball number and each won a not-too-shabby R323,152.30!
A further 35 players managed to guess four numbers and the Powerball number, and won just over R11,500 each.
Ironically, one of the numbers drawn in the standard Powerball draw was 13!
So, was the main Powerball jackpot draw unlucky? Depends on who you ask. The players who didn’t win the R110 million are obviously not too happy about the fact, but for those who hope to win the rolled over R120 million in the May 17th draw, it could be lucky after all.
At present, Ithuba isn’t releasing the identity of the Powerball Plus jackpot winner and if the player chooses to remain anonymous, it is his or her prerogative to do so. Take the case of another recent Powerball Plus winner who came forward to claim their prize of R94 million but asked to keep his details private.
All that is known about the winner is that he or she hails from Durban.
According to Charmaine Mabuza, the CEO of Ithuba, South Africa’s National Lottery operator: “As per the player’s request, as well as our mandate to protect the player’s identity, no further information will be shared regarding the winner.”
The player bought a ticket using the Powerball quick-pick selection and bet just R45. When it was clear that a player had hit the jackpot on the April 8th draw, Ithuba immediately went public and asked that players check their tickets to see if they were winners.
More and more South Africans are living the dream by winning prizes beyond the scope of their imagination.
With so many weekly lotteries available in the country, there is no reason that the next winner can’t be you!