$3 million Powerball jackpot after $20 million win | Draw 1281

With just a few weeks until Christmas, Thursday’s $3 million Powerball jackpot could make a world of difference to a lucky winner.

Thursday’s Powerball has reset to $3 million after last week’s $20 million Powerball jackpot was won by a Melbourne player who took five days to come forward and claim their prize.

If there’s a winner in the draw, they will be the first player of 2020 to take home a Powerball prize of $3 million.

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Last week’s Powerball winner who took five days to come forward and claim the prize. Picture: Supplied

So far this year there have been 12 Powerball division one winners who have together pocketed more than $440 million in division one prize money.

“What a way to end 2020, with $3 million landing in your bank account,” the Lott spokeswoman Lauren Cooney said.

“Will someone be walking away with a multimillion-dollar prize tomorrow night, or will the jackpot climb higher? We will just have to wait and see.”

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There’s a $3 million prize in this week’s Powerball. Picture: Supplied

It took almost a week for the latest Powerball winner to come forward and claim their massive division one win in last week’s Powerball, drawn Thursday, November 26.

The ticket was unregistered, so officials from The Lott had no way of contacting the winner to break the mind-blowing news.

Instead, they had to wait for the ticketholder to check their ticket and come forward to claim their prize.

Because the tickets are unregistered, lottery officials don’t know who the winners are or have any way to contact them.

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With just three weeks until Christmas, the $3 million prize could make a massive difference to a lucky winner. Picture: iStock

Ms Cooney reminded players to register their entry to a player card.

“For players wanting the chance at becoming an overnight multi-millionaire, we recommend getting in early to purchase a ticket, to avoid missing out,” she said.

“We also recommend players register their entry to a player card. This means that their prize is secure and we’ll be able to contact them directly with the good news in the case of a win.”

Players are recommended to register their ticket so they can be contacted if they win. Picture: Supplied

To be in the running for the multimillion-dollar lottery prize, punters must choose their favourite seven numbers and a Powerball number ahead of the draw on Thursday night.

There are nine prize divisions in Powerball. You can win a prize with as little as two winning numbers plus the Powerball number in a single game.

To win the division one jackpot, your entry needs to match all seven winning numbers plus the Powerball number in a single game.