Woman from Soweto Claims R114m PowerBall Jackpot
What a difference a day made! Imagine going from barely making rent on a single-room rental to becoming a first-time homeowner and a millionaire, in under 24 hours. That’s what happened to PowerBall’s latest winner – a 35-year-old woman from Soweto.
The PowerBall draw of Tuesday, 4th February proved yet again that anything can happen when you play the game of chance. After rolling over for 19 weeks, the numbers were drawn and it was revealed that this time, there was in fact a jackpot winner. The one and only winning ticket had been purchased at a café in Roodepoort, but despite expectations, the winner did not come forth immediately. After a day without word, newspapers began reporting on the incident in a bid to notify the winner, and to coax them out of hiding.
After a week of waiting, as the clock rolled down on the latest PowerBall draw, the winner finally came forward, a 35-year-old woman from Soweto.
The winner is from humble origins, working for minimum wage, where even paying the rental on her home – a backroom in Soweto – has often been a challenge. Such financial difficulties have kept her from spending time with her four children and providing them the life she believes they deserve.
For the winner, 4th February 2020 was mostly a day like any other. Making her way home from her daily commute, however, she passed Roodepoort’s local Victor and Sons Café, a line of hopeful jackpot-winners queuing in front. She was not in the habit of buying a weekly ticket, but given the excitement she saw at the café, felt drawn to try her luck, just in case: “I had no idea of what the jackpot prize was. I became curious and searched for some coins in my bag to see if I could also play,” she said.
Little did she know, that R5 purchase, made on impulse, would be the ticket to lottery riches. However, because she made her selection manually, Ithuba was unable to notify her immediately of the win. Fortunately, she was eventually made aware of her success and stepped forward to claim her prize soon after.
Since claiming her prize, the winner has been swept up in a whirlwind of events adjusting to her new wealth. Ithuba generously hosted the winner in a five-star hotel, and offered her the counsel of a skilled psychologist and financial advisor to help plan the way forward.
Having officially resigned from her day job, the winner has a list of big dreams to realize. Foremost, she plans to spend as much time as possible with her children. Along with becoming a first-time homeowner, she aims to build a house for her mother as well. She also has her heart set on a luxury sedan, but jokes that she will have to learn how to drive first.
With all these responsibilities, the winner also has a few cheeky plans up her sleeve. As a new driver, she has one important stop to make, a drive past the house of her ex-boyfriend. “He broke up with me because I was broke and didn’t have a fancy job. He will probably faint when he sees me,” she teased.
Apart from the jackpot, there were a number of winners in the other divisions as well. Eleven ticket holders won in Division 2, matching five correct numbers and taking home close to R65,000 each, while 43 Division 3 winners received just over R10,000 with 4 correct numbers. Don’t forget to enter your lucky numbers in this week’s PowerBall.
Published: Wednesday 12th February 2020Latest Lottery News News Archive