‘One Powerball and I’m out of here’: Prize jackpots to $150m

Australians now have a chance to win a share of $150 million after Thursday night’s $100m draw went off without any main prize winners. See the winning numbers and how to boost your odds.

The Powerball jackpot has surged to $100m. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Australians now have a chance to win a share in $150 million after Thursday night’s $100m Powerball draw went off without any Division 1 winners.

Despite no winners for the main prize of draw no. 1461, 10 Aussie have walked away almost $180,000 richer, having pocketed a share in the Division 2 prize pool.

A further 192 people shared in Division 3’s $2.22m, each taking home more than $11,500.

The winning numbers in the May 16 draw were 16, 9, 1, 18, 12, 2, 14 and the Powerball of 3.

HOW TO BOOST CHANCES OF WINNING POWERBALL

As many has half of all Australian adults are expected to grab a ticket for Thursday night’s Powerball draw, which has hit a jackpot of $100 million.

The eye-watering prize is the sixth-biggest jackpot in the game’s 28-year history and it follows five consecutive draws with no division-one-winning entries.

However, according to the Lottery Corporation, players are falling into some common traps when buying tickets.

Here are the five biggest mistakes to avoid.

BIGGEST LOTTERY TICKET TRAPS TO AVOID

NOT REGISTERING YOUR LOTTO TICKET

The biggest trap Australians fall into is forgetting to register their lottery tickets.

“Registering your ticket not only means your prize is secure (only you can receive it), but that you’re in with a chance to receive a life-changing phone call on Thursday night straight after the draw results are known,” a spokesperson for The Lottery Corporation said.

Whether you buy in person or online, it’s important to update your contact details. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

It’s also important to ensure your contact details are up to date so lottery officials can reach you if you win. You can do this via your player card or online account.

LOSING YOUR LOTTO TICKET

Another big trap is losing your ticket.

There is a process to claim prizes on lost and damaged lottery tickets, the best course of action is always to treat your ticket like it could be worth $100 million.

BUYING TOO MANY GAMES

You don’t need a big ticket — last year, a dad from Bankstown, in Western Sydney, won $100 million in June 2023 with a six-game QuickPick that cost just $8.10.

DISREGARDING THE POWERHIT

The Lottery Corporation said many people also disregard PowerHit, which is an option that guarantees the Powerball number you’ll need to win division one.

No-one has won division one in the last five draws, but 19 people have won division two and a PowerHit entry could have helped them claim the top prize.

Lottery officials will attempt to call registered division one winners at about 8:45pm on Thursday night and they use a phone number with a Queensland (07) area code.

“Many winners have initially dismissed calls from this number thinking, ‘I don’t know anyone in Queensland’,” the spokesperson said. “It’s a phone call you won’t want to miss.”

AVOIDING SYNDICATES

The last trap to avoid is sleeping on syndicates.

Syndicates allow you to pool funds and buy tickets with other people, such as friends, family members, work colleagues and even strangers.

There’s a SyndiMate tool on The Lott website that makes it easy to set up a syndicate, making it crystal clear who’s in and out of the group so prizes can be split.

HOW TO BUY A LOTTERY TICKET

Thursday is likely to come with a buying frenzy.

So far this year, six Powerball division one winning entries have won more than $270 million.

The last time Powerball offered a $100 million prize was in January, with 7224 tickets sold in a single minute at 5.46pm on the day of the draw.

Three people have won $100m in the last 12 months. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

If a single person wins this week’s entire prize, they will be the second-biggest lottery winner in Australian history — but it’s not the only big prize to have been on the table in recent years.

“Australia’s biggest lottery winner was an inner Sydney nurse who scored more than $107 million in 2019. She initially thought she’d only won $107,000 and was flabbergasted to discover her real prize was 1000 times more,” said The Lott spokesperson Anna Hobdell.

“During the past 12 months, we’ve seen three people each score $100 million.”

In addition to the Bankstown dad, a Hawthorne woman and Singleton couple shared a $200 million jackpot drawn in February 2024.

More than half of the Powerball division one winning entries from 2023 were QuickPicks, which is when the lottery terminal randomly generates your numbers.

Entries into the $100 million Powerball draw 1461 close at 7.30pm AEST on Thursday, 16 May 2024.

Tickets can be purchased at any licenced lottery outlet, online from thelott.com or via The Lott mobile app.

Originally published as ‘One Powerball and I’m out of here’: Prize jackpots to $150m