An unemployed mother from North West has pocketed a record R158 million after winning the South African Powerball late last month.
The SA Powerball prize is second only to the R232 million won in 2019. The third highest is the R153 million which was claimed last year. “No, I’m not lucky. I’m blessed. I’m still in disbelief, overwhelmed yet very excited that I’m the R158 million PowerBall jackpot winner. The money could not have come at a better time for my family as I lost my job last year,” said the fortunate recipient. “The winning numbers keep replaying in my mind. I’ve been playing the same numbers across PowerBall and Lotto games for a while now.
On Tuesday, I missed the live draw show for some odd reason, so I decided to check the draw results on my Absa banking app and I had the shock of my life. “When I saw the winning PowerBall numbers, I knew that I had won the PowerBall jackpot of R158 million, but I kept on checking the numbers throughout the day to ensure that I was not mistaken or that I would wake up from a dream.” A week into her triumph, the lucky lady has already planned how to spend a significant portion of her newfound winnings.
This will include a new home, trip to KwaZulu-Natal, charitable giving and investment for the future. “A portion of the winnings will go towards building and furnishing our dream home, with the help of an interior designer and the best architect, to ensure that everything I have always dreamt of as a little girl becomes exactly what I envisioned. “We plan to invest a significant amount of our winnings, allowing for my family and I to live comfortably.
The rest of the winnings will be placed in an education trust, towards our children’s education, and a portion will be donated to charity. “I would love to travel to Durban, as I have never been there before and I have always wanted to go there for a family vacation at the sea.” There have been six other SA Powerball wins in excess of R1 million.
A 34-year-old engineer from Secunda claimed the highest of the sextet in 2018, banking R145 million. “It was not easy to make the call to claim the winnings. I needed to properly digest it and accept that my life has changed‚” said the 2018 winner at the time. Three of the six happened in 2020 alone.
The first of last year’s winners was a 20-year-old man from Soweto, who took home R114 million. “I am most grateful that this money will give me an opportunity to raise my children, to be able to take them to school and have the pleasure of preparing a scrumptious meal that they can enjoy when they get back from school, something that I’ve been wishing for, for a long time,” said the Sowetan winner at the time.
The SA Powerball now accounts for 11 of the 12 biggest prizes won in South Africa’s lotteries, which comprise the Lotto and Powerball.
