A security guard from Gauteng has finally come forward to collect his R11 million prize after winning 15 June 2021’s Powerball draw.
The lucky winner bought the ticket in Stretford, Orange Farm, a mere few hours before the draw happened.
If ever the old adage, ‘rather late than never’, rang true, this is it. “The winnings will make a massive difference in our lives, my wife is currently unemployed and we have three children that are currently in school,” said the 48-year-old Gautenger. “A portion of the winnings will go towards their tertiary education. I want to invest in property and start a transportation company. “Lastly, I plan on getting my wife and I brand new cars and investing the rest of our winnings.”
He used the Quick Pick selection method and the selection of random numbers yielded half of the full R22 million prize.
The other R11 million winner, whose numbers were selected manually, is still being sought. Hundreds of thousands of blue-and white-collar workers countrywide enter the Powerball draw each week.
In May 2021, a Cape Town man of modest professional and financial means won R56 million in the Powerball draw. “I’ve played the same numbers since November last year. Each number represents a significant date in my life. We want to find the perfect plot of land to build our dream home and finally, to invest a significant portion of our winnings,” he said at the time. In March 2021, a retail worker from Durban pocketed a cool R28 million. It was her second win in a short space of time. She had previously won R129,000 – and used the Quick Pick function on both occasions. “When I buy groceries, I use the change to buy a ticket. I was in shock when I found out I had won. I couldn’t believe it. When I first saw the numbers, I thought there had been a mistake. But when I looked again, I saw I had won six numbers. I was so flushed,” she enthused.
Also in March 2021, a burgeoning social worker from Limpopo was able to get his career path back on track after striking it rich to the delightful tune of R51 million after buying a R30 ticket from an OK Mini Mark in Polokwane. “I wanted to study for a qualification in social work after my matric, but unfortunately there was no money to send me to school, so I had to look for a job so that I could help my family,” he recalled. “Winning this money does not mean that I must abandon my dream qualification – it was never just about me. I want to be able to offer effective and sustainable assistance to my community, and getting the social work qualification will help me do just that.”
June 2021 brought a 73-year-old entrepreneur from Mpumalanga a R30 million win. He was also relatively selfless in his plans for some of his prize money. “I want to donate money to schools in the rural areas and in townships of Mpumalanga to afford the youth better education opportunities,” he said. And then there was the domestic worker of 30 years, who won a whopping R70 million in September 2019. The proud mother and winner promptly resigned from her job on the back of her big victory.
