Man's odd response to winning $40m Powerball prize
A healthcare worker has revealed his bizarre reaction to finding out he had won the entire $40 million Powerball prize overnight.
A healthcare worker from Cairns in Far North Queensland said he “wouldn’t be able to sleep” last night after a Golden Casket official made contact with him to confirm he had won.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, not only won the division one prize, but also claimed nineteen division two numbers, which bolstered his overall winnings to $40,430,542.90.
Understandably, the man was in disbelief when he found out he had won and admits the only thing he could think of doing to celebrate was to take a shower.
“I thought I would check my ticket before bed. I was quite calm. I knew I had some of the numbers and thought I might have won division six,” he told The Lott.
“Then I had another look and thought ‘no, you b******s are wrong! I had a look again. Then I went and had a shower.”
The man also said he almost didn’t answer the confirmation call, until his cat ran over to the phone.
“She never does that. I was really surprised. That’s why I answered the phone,” he said.
“It’s hard to believe only one person won it and that one person is me.”
The healthcare worker was equally surprised he had so many winning numbers.
“I thought with a single PowerHit entry you just got one prize. I never thought you could win so many times,” he exclaimed.
The winning ticket was purchased at newsXpress in Edge Hill, and owner Maxine Hare said she was very excited one of her regular customers had become a millionaire overnight.
“Congratulations to our winner,” Ms Hare said.
“We wish them all the very best!”
The new millionaire has a few ideas on how he will spend his money, saying early retirement is an option.
“I’ll be sharing this with my family. I will buy a new house and go on holidays. I think I’m going to retire early too,” he said.
The Queensland man’s win comes a month after a Sydney father became $1.3 million richer when a “happy accident” landed him two division one Lotto wins.
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