Northern Beaches man one number off $1.3b lotto haul

One decision saw $1.3 billion slip through the fingers of an Aussie lotto player – but the Sydney accountant still took home a massive haul.

An accountant from Sydney’s north shore was just one number away from taking home AUD$1.3 billion in an overseas lotto.

According to the Lottery Office, the 45-year-old man from Crows Nest picked five of the six numbers needed to win the USA Power Lotto on Tuesday.

Recently Australians have had greater access to overseas lotteries that can offer jackpots magnitudes above local draws.

The latest Australian man to get close eventually earned $49,000 as a Division Three winner.

The man claimed to have only joined the Lottery Office, an online lottery operator licensed by the Northern Territory government, on Monday, the day before almost becoming Australia’s latest billionaire.

The man won $49k but was one number away from winning over $1 billion.

“To be honest, when I saw my account, and it showed I had won $3k, I was excited and took a screenshot and sent it to my wife before realising that I had won Division 3,’’ the man, who wishes to remain anonymous, said.

“We pretty badly need a new car/van that can fit our six-month-old baby plus our other two girls and little doggies so this is really great timing.’’

The man bought a “Guaranteed Power Lotto System” and went with the numbers 5, 8, 9, 17, 21 with a Powerball of 21.

The winning numbers were 5,8,9,17, 41, and a Powerball of 21.

The USA Power Lotto last year recorded a world-record jackpot of AUD $2.9 billion.

Last year, the eccentric Tasmanian millionaire and owner of Mona David Walsh revealed that the syndicate he is a part of took over $60 million from a German lottery.

Although he revealed the purchase of a million tickets likely helped.

“It jackpotted so many times it was worth buying a bunch of tickets. So we bought a bunch of tickets,” the professional gambler said.