Mystery $50m Powerball winner from Melbourne comes forward

A man in his 20s has come forward as the winner of $50m in Thursday’s $100m jackpot, revealing it was his first time playing Powerball.

A man in his 20s has pocketed $50m from his first ever Powerball ticket after winning half of Thursday’s $100m draw alongside two Queensland grandparents.

The young Melbourne man was left speechless after checking his ticket, revealing he’d never played Powerball before.

“It feels unreal! It’s unbelievable,” he said.

“Funnily enough, this was my first time playing Powerball. I’ve played a few other lottery games in the past but never Powerball.

“When I saw the jackpot had reached $100 million, I thought I may as well buy a ticket.”

He told The Lott he felt as though “nothing is going to hold (him) back anymore”.

“It really feels like I could do whatever I want, like the world is my oyster,” he said.

The man vowed to help his parents retire with his winnings while continuing to go to work.

“I love what I do at work, so I will absolutely keep working,” he said.

“I want to make sure I keep my feet on the ground.

“I plan to share a lot of the prize with my parents and give back to them however I can. I’d love to retire them straight away.”

Lottery officials are on the hunt for a mystery Melbourne winner who is now $50m richer. Picture: NewsWire/ Nikki Short

His winning ticket was purchased at the Northland Lotto & News, with new owner Elham Nourazari shocked following the news.

“I can’t believe we’ve sold a ticket worth $50 million!” Ms Nourazari said.

“I’m a new owner of Northland Lotto & News so this will be our first division one win since I’ve taken over ownership.

“I am so excited. We’ll be sure to decorate the store with plenty of balloons to celebrate and I’ll be letting all our customers know.

“Congratulations to our winner and thank you to all our customers for the ongoing support.”

A Central Queensland grandmother earlier said she was in “disbelief” after receiving a call from the Lott Members club informing the couple that their 8-game quick pick from Card and Paper Shop in North Rockhampton was about to change their life.

“I was expecting you to ask if we have solar panels, not to tell us we’ve just won $50 million!”, she said.

Powerball draw 1489 reaped a jackpot prize of $100m, with a Rockhampton couple and mystery Melbourne player taking home $50 million each. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

Asked what they’ll do with their new found fortune, the woman said it’s going to be “family first”.

“We’ll have lots more time together too, I don’t think they're going to believe us when we tell them.”

A further 11 division two winners have also taken home a life changing $158,200 each.

The winning numbers for Thursday’s Powerball draw were: 22 10 4 31 1 26 9, with 14 drawn as the crucial Powerball number.

The jackpot had skyrocketed following four consecutive draws without a division one winner.

The $100m figure makes it the third-largest jackpot offered by any Australian lottery game in 2024, the company said.

The chances of winning the jackpot, which requires seven matching numbers plus the Powerball number, were about one in 134 million.

In February, a record jackpot prize of $200m was taken out while a South Australian scooped up $150m – the biggest individual win ever.

This marks the 11th $100m draw in the games’ history.

Of the ten previous draws of this size, three were won by individuals, three draws by a pair or three people, and four draws had no winners and resulted in the jackpot prize increasing further.

The last draw of this size was in August, when an Aspley woman nearly lost her ticket in her car’s glove box.

The Lott had expected one in two Australian adults to enter the $100m jackpot draw on Thursday night.

Ticket sales were expected to peak between 6pm and 7pm on Thursday night, with the $100m August draw peaking with 8681 tickets bought in a single minute.