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City of Darebin mystery man wins $50m powerball with unregistered ticket, yet to claim prize

A mystery man from the City of Darebin has won the $50m Powerball prize on an unregistered ticket - but has not yet claimed the colossal prize.

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The search is on for an Melbourne Powerball ticketholder who was one of two Powerball division one winners who shared in the $100m pool, alongside two Queensland grandparents.

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

The unknown Melbourne player won in possession of an unregistered ticket will have until Saturday to come forward before they announce the name of the store in Melbourne’s north where the ticket was sold.

It will then be up to the winner to come forward and check their ticket in store.

“We’re encouraging all City of Darebin residents and visitors to check their entries because you may just discover that you’ve won an exhilarating prize set to change the course of your future”, said spokesman Anna Hobdell.

“What a way to end 2024 and welcome 2025!”

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

Meanwhile, the Central Queensland grandmother said she’s 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.

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.”

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.

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
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

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 glovebox.

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.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/city-of-darebin-mystery-man-wins-50m-powerball-with-unregistered-ticket-yet-to-claim-prize/news-story/9cfef7b7c84ea215d13e11c25f1ff381