Western Sydney’s $15.63 million Powerball winner is looking forward to a life of luxury and helping others
A 41-year-old mother of two from Sydney’s western suburbs is looking forward to a new life of luxury and helping others after winning $15.63 million in Powerball last night.
“We’re struggling at the moment, don’t worry about that. This is going to make a big difference to our lives,” the self-employed winner told a NSW Lotteries official this morning.
“I’ll use the money to pay off our mortgage and help family and friends. I’d also like to help some charities. There are lots of things that we couldn’t do before that we can now,” she said.
When pressed on how she would spend more than $15 million, the still sceptical winner said that she would be looking at luxury cars, overseas travel and a very special Christmas for her two teenaged boys.
“Until I’ve seen the cheque I won’t believe it 100%, I’m still not sure if it’s really true, but if I could have my dream car it would be a Range Rover Sport. We had looked at buying a new car recently, just normal family cars, but they seemed so overpriced. Now I don’t have to worry how much I pay.
“I’d also like to take the family on a holiday to Europe and the UK. This Christmas is looking a lot brighter, the kids will be getting something better under the tree this year than they would have before,” she joked.
The winner said that she started playing with the same numbers every week when Powerball first started in 1996, before switching to randomly selected autopick entries a few years ago.
“I heard that a lot of people were winning with autopicks, so I switched to autopicks. It’s certainly worked for me,” she said.
The winning eighteen-game autopick ticket, costing just $11.55, was purchased at Carnes Hill Newsagency at Shop 3, Carnes Hill Marketplace, Hoxton Park.
“I got goose bumps when I found out that we sold the only first division win in Powerball last night. I’m so happy for the winner, it’s great that the money is going to one of our customers,” Natalie Nguyen from Carnes Hill Newsagency said this morning.
“Good luck to our Powerball winner and, of course, good luck to all of our customers, we’re going to keep selling big winners,” Ms Nguyen added.
The winning numbers in last night’s Powerball draw were 9, 14, 18, 36, and 45, with Powerball number 43. The advertised prize of $15 million was increased to $15,627,164.39 by stronger than expected sales.
