Queensland grandparents win $70 million in Powerball jackpot

An elderly couple in Queensland is $70 million richer after winning the entire jackpot in last night’s Powerball draw.

The grandparents from Hervey Bay woke this morning to the news that they had made history by winning Australia’s biggest ever Powerball draw.

The retirees who say they haven't won anything better than an "old chook raffle" missed a number of calls from Golden Casket following the draw on Thursday night.

The couple were finally informed of the life-changing news this morning.

"I had six missed calls on my phone late last night and I thought `who would phone that many times at that hour?'," Golden Casket quoted the winning husband as saying.

"I thought it couldn't possibly be Golden Casket, but I got out my tablet to check my numbers online this morning and I was all thumbs.

"If I checked it once, I checked it a thousand times."

“It’s absolutely breath-taking! It’s wonderful! We’ve both got the shakes!” the winning husband added.

The couple, who have chosen to remain anonymous, said they never considered themselves to be "lucky" people before now.

"The best thing we've ever won is the old chook raffle," they said.

The wife said they planned to spend the windfall on helping their family, donating to charity and travelling.

"We haven't done much travel in our lives, but now we're off," she said.

They said their multi-millionaire status would be a big adjustment, as they have been frugal all their lives.

“We’ve always been mindful of money, and skimped and saved where we could...But we won’t have to be frugal anymore; I can toss out all those specials catalogues,” the winning husband said.

"You won't see us around here for long.

"We'll just have to wait until Europe and the USA warm up a bit."

The couple won the entire $70 million jackpot with a marked six-game entry purchased from newsXpress Eli Waters in Pialba.

“The ticket was registered to my wife’s Winners Circle card, but I’m taking the credit for the winning numbers! They’re a mix of our favourite numbers and we put them on just about every week,” the winning husband joked.

Tatts Lotteries spokeswoman Elissa Lewis said the jackpot was the largest win on a single ticket in Powerball history.

"The standing record for the largest Powerball win claimed by a single entry in Australia was set in 2008, when one ticket purchased in Melbourne won $58.7 million in Powerball draw 629," Ms Lewis said.

It also equalled the largest lotto win ever on a single ticket that was set in December 2013 when a ticket bought on the Gold Coast won $70 million in Oz Lotto, she said.

The winning numbers in Powerball's $70 million draw 1025 were 18, 23, 34, 14, 4 and 20. The Powerball number was 18.