A woman from the Sunshine Coast has claimed half of Wednesday's AUD$ 70 million Australia Powerball jackpot.
The lucky winner, who has chosen to remain anonymous, told lottery staff she was so overwhelmed by the win she'd had no opportunity to think about what to do with her massive AUD$ 35.9 million prize.
"I'm feeling a little sick at the moment! I'm just waiting to wake up from this dream!" the winner said. "I honestly never thought I’d win in last night’s $70 million Powerball draw. I think the most I’ve ever won in lotto is about AUD$ 20! So this is unbelievable!"
The winner may not have had time to decide what her plans are for the money, but she has a definite plan for herself.
"I can actually retire! I’ve wanted to retire for some time now," she said.
The other half of the Wednesday night jackpot was claimed by a lottery syndicate from Western Sydney.
The 15-person syndicate, who all work together, has also opted to remain anonymous.
Speaking to NSW Lotteries, a syndicate spokesperson said: "We've all been talking about it this morning, and we're in shock now, but we'll be celebrating together later. We have to get back to work."
Each syndicate member takes a AUD$ 2.4 million share of the prize, so 'getting back to work' is not something any of them need to worry about unduly, but the group is taking a levelheaded approach to the win.
"There are mortgages to pay off, retirement plans down the track, and a few people have said they'll be donating some of their prize money to charity," the spokesperson said.
