Economy & LaborJAN 3, 2025

Some Random Aussie Just Pocketed $20M By Winning Powerball Jackpot, Netizens Discuss Their Luck

Many of us make our resolutions in the first days of the new year - and then, as time flies away, we gradually adjust them, removing obviously unrealistic goals. However, why not adjust your plans at the very beginning of the year? For example, after reading this post, I believe many will want to add a new resolution - buy at least one lottery ticket.

At least some random Aussie has already turned out to be damn lucky - the ticket they bought just recently brought them a hefty jackpot of $20 million in the last draw. Sounds tempting, doesn't it? Okay, let's go on with more details.

More info: Ozlotteries

Someone in Australia has recently hit a $20M lottery jackpot after simply buying a ticket at a gas station

Image credits: jackmac34 / Pixabay (not the actual photo)

The very first Powerball lottery draw in 2025 brought luck to one first-division winner and two second-division winners with over $241K amounts each

The first Powerball Australia lottery draw of 2025 took place this Thursday, and a jackpot of $20M was at stake. And so it happened that the jackpot was immediately hit! The winning ticket was bought at a petrol station at Woolworths Petrol-Prestons in south-west Sydney. In other words, the lucky person filled their car with gas and their account with 20 million!

Yes, exactly 20 million - because while winnings in this lottery are taxable in the US, they are not taxed in Australia. So now the number of multimillionaires among Aussies has increased by one person. And by the way, they are not the only lucky person in this drawing.

Image credits: Waldemar / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Two second division winners both pocketed $241,154.45, while almost 57 third division winners became richer by over $10.5K. If you participated in this drawing - please hurry up and check your tickets. The winning combination was 21, 27, 9, 22, 15, 18 and 8. The Powerball was 19. Who knows, maybe you are also among the winners?

By the way, this is the first record of 2025, but not the biggest individual win in the history of Powerball Australia. In February last year, a record jackpot of $200M was hit - and by two winners at once. Accordingly, each became richer by as much as a hundred million.

Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)

The record win in the history of lotteries brought the lucky man in California $2.04 billion

Interestingly, the biggest win in the history of lotteries also belongs to Powerball - only American. On November 7, 2022, a ticket purchased at Joe's Service Center in Altadena, California, brought Edwin Castro $2.04 billion. The lucky winner was offered the winnings in equal shares over 30 years, but he refused, preferring to take the $997.6 million at once.

And almost a year later, in October 2023, another lucky Powerball ticket was purchased in California, bringing $1.765 billion - the second largest jackpot in the history of lotteries. And the winner also refused the annuity, preferring everything at once. So, as we can see, the still-unnamed lucky Aussie is a real pauper compared to Mr. Castro...

However, twenty million dollars is already a very impressive amount, although many people on Facebook were quite ironic about the winner. "20 million... barely a house these days," one of the responders wrote sarcastically, hinting at the incredible high cost of real estate in Australia in recent years.

Although, of course, the author of this comment is exaggerating. Yes, Australian real estate prices have skyrocketed, but still, according to the latest report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the average price of a house in the country today is $959,300. That is, the winner can buy as many as 20 average houses. Or just one - but a very luxurious one.

And yet, despite some sarcastic comments, most people are simply happy for the nameless winner. Some are even upset that they didn't take the risk of buying a ticket. "OMG - I did not have a ticket!" someone wittily added. "I saved $29 but lost $20 million." By the way, $20 is also my personal record lottery win. And what about you, our dear readers?