The historic $200 million Powerball jackpot has been claimed by two lucky winners who will be sharing the grand prize.

A couple hailing from Singleton, about an hour from Newcastle in NSW, secured one of the winning tickets while an unidentified individual in Queensland purchased the other ticket.

One half of the Singleton couple mentioned their intention to retire, while the other is inclined to keep working despite the multimillion-dollar win.

Officials at The Lott said the woman laughed hysterically as she was contacted about the giant win.

“It’s a lot of money. A lot of money to fathom,” she told officials. “I just had a look a moment ago and I instantly went ‘Oh my God’… I mean you joke about winning but never expect it to happen to you”.

“Well, I absolutely won’t be working anymore. I mean, honestly, do I really need to?”
She said her partner was in shock, but “he loves his job, so I don’t know if he’ll be retiring”.
The pair will likely take an overseas holiday (“to see everywhere”) and plan to celebrate this weekend.
“Our options are endless,” the woman said, adding that, “It’s going to help our children immensely.”

“Wow. I’m just taking it all in. Thank you so much.”

The unregistered winner from Queensland remains elusive.

Draw 1446 on February 1 yielded winning numbers 12, 33, 23, 35, 1, and 26, with Powerball 10. There were 22 division two winners, each claiming just over $177,000.

The historic jackpot saw a surge in ticket sales, with hundreds expected to be purchased every minute. In 2022, the previous highest Australian lottery jackpot of $160 million was shared among three individuals. The likelihood of winning Division One Powerball is over 134 million to one, making it statistically rarer than being struck by lightning multiple times.

In the past year, Australia witnessed 20 division-one Powerball wins, totalling more than $552.15 million.

 

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