Powerball reveals lucky 'trends' ahead of $100 million jackpot
Thursday night's Powerball draw is set to be etched into Australian lottery history – and could produce the second biggest winner yet.
Thursday's Powerball draw with a jackpot of $100 million will be the equal fifth-biggest in Australian history and it's no surprise Aussies are "dreaming big" at the possibility of becoming a multi-millionaire, with thousands of tickets expected to be sold every minute in the next 24 hours.
"If previous $100 million draws are anything to go by, we’re expecting it to be busy right up until the draw's close tomorrow night," The Lott spokesperson Matthew Hart told Yahoo News Australia on Wednesday. But when it comes to mega draws, it's been a fairly quick turnaround with the last $100 million jackpot coming in just August last year.
Why is the jackpot so high?
There have been no division one winners in the last four Powerball draws, meaning all potential winnings have rolled over to this week.
Despite the rising cost of living (and the vanishingly small odds of actually winning the Powerball lottery), interest in the game has remained strong.
"Powerball has reached these heights as there hasn’t been a division one winner for the past four draws and there’s been strong participation during those past four draw which all contributes to growing the jackpot," Hart explained. "If someone wins the entire $100 million prize tomorrow night – they’ll share the crown of Australia’s second biggest lottery winner ever.
"It seems more than a few Aussies don’t mind the idea of starting 2024 as a newly-minted multi-millionaire," he said.
Officials drops stats on previous winners
Sure it's a game or pure, random chance but the Lott has shared some of the lucky "trends" based on previous division one winners for those eager to follow in their footsteps.
Last year more than a half of the division one winning tickets were QuickPicks — a ticket where the lottery terminal randomly generates the entry numbers — and PowerHit entries, a ticket which guarantees the entrant the all-important Powerball number.
Despite the lottery being a game of chance and every number having an equal chance of being drawn, the Lott also revealed there have been certain numbers which have been selected more than others — numbers 2, 3, 7, 9, 11 and 17 have been drawn more frequently from the main barrel while 2 and 19 have out-performed as the Powerball number.
Records of Powerball
The thought of winning Thursday night's jackpot is unfathomable for most, but it's not the biggest in Powerball history.
"The biggest draw we’ve ever had in Australia is $160 million," Hart said, recalling how there was three division one winners on that night, with the biggest individual lottery winner being a Sydney nurse who scored $107 million back in 2019.
Powerball draw 1444 closes 7.30pm AEST on Thursday 18 January 2024.
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