What happens after you win the $100m Powerball jackpot
The winner of Thursday night’s Powerball draw stands to take home a whopping $100 million.
It is the second time in history Australia has seen a prize this big and a third of adult Australians likely to purchase a ticket into the draw.
But what exactly happens after you pick yourself off the floor once you’ve ticked off all the winning numbers?
The Lott spokesman Matt Hart told Yahoo News winners might have to hold off a couple of weeks before running out to buy that Ferrari.
What happens if you win?
If your phone rings around 10pm tomorrow, it means your life could be about to change.
The draw will take place about 9.30pm AEDT on Thursday night and winners who purchased tickets online or registered them through a players club card will receive the inconceivable phone call about half an hour after the numbers are picked.
Those who have unregistered tickets will however remain a mystery until they present the winning ticket.
“Certainly if the winner is registered we will contact them to let them know if they have to go into work on Friday or not,” Mr Hart said.”
If tickets are not registered we are very much relying on the ticket holder to check their entry themselves to discover the news before making contact with us.
“If you have bought your entry at an outlet you have to present the ticket with what’s called a prize claim form. You can do it in person or send it by the post – perhaps if you’re holding a $100 million ticket you might want to present it in person.
When will you receive the money?
Upon discovering you’re a multi-millionaire, the Lott will send winners a bottle of champagne and an oversized novelty cheque.
Winners will need to hold onto their ticket, so stick it to the fridge rather than throwing it in the bin.
Division one winners can get their hands on the money about two weeks after the draw. Money won from tomorrow’s jackpot should land in bank accounts on February 1.
“We pay top prizes two weeks after the draw so people have time to get financial advice and sort some things out,” Mr Hart said.
Money will be sent to winners through electronic funds transfer and can take up to 24 hours after transfer to land in the account.
It is the same process for division two winners. They will have to fill out a prize claim form and deliver their ticket to an outlet or one of The Lott’s offices.
People wanting to claim a prize of under $1000 will receive their money almost immediately.
Those prizes can be claimed from an outlet or funds will be deposited into the bank account the next business day after the ticket is cashed.
What happens if you lose your ticket?
If you lose your winning ticket not all hope is lost. But it does certainly make it harder for you to get your hands on the prize.
“There is a lost and found ticket process where basically they need to provide significant details about the ticket – where they bought it, how they bought it, how they paid for it – only details a ticket holder would know,” Mr Hart said.
“Then we will have to launch an investigation and that could take weeks to confirm they really are the ticket holder.
“It’s best just to hold on to your ticket.”
Powerball hopefuls should get in early
Mr Hart said those wanting to enter the Powerball should get in early.
Ahead of last week’s draw after 5.30pm, there were over 6000 tickets purchased every minute.
No division one winners in last week’s $80 million Powerball saw this week’s prize soar to $100 million.
There were 15 division two winners and Mr Hart said they would have likely taken home the division one prize if they had a Power Hit ticket, which costs $27 per game and guarantees the ticket holder the Powerball number.
“About a quarter of division one entries last year were Power Hit,” he said.
If nobody wins tomorrow night’s draw, Mr Hart said the jackpot could again rise tens of millions of dollars.
The Powerball draw will air about 8.30pm AEST and 9.30pm AEDT on 7TWO on Thursday night.
