THE jackpot gods were looking down on two lucky winners from Gauteng and the Western Cape when they discovered that they had won a total of R30 million in jackpot winnings.
A lottery ticket bought from Moloto, Gauteng won the Powerball R24 million jackpot from draw 811 turning a garden service worker into a multi-millionaire. When the 38-year old father of three discovered that he had won the Powerball he had played for R30, he could not believe his luck. “I paid lobola in 2012 and having a white wedding was a pipe dream, with my Powerball jackpot winnings I can finally give my wife the wedding she has always dreamed of,” said the elated R24 million jackpot winner. The Powerball jackpot millionaire states he has always been a careful spender when it came to money and these winnings will be no different. He plans on building his family a home, and has always had the desire to travel. Besides paying for his kids education he would like to spoil them a bit with their favourite treats – pizza and cake! After undergoing financial and emotional counselling, provided by Ithuba Winner Services, the Powerball jackpot millionaire says he plans on continuing with the counselling sessions. He is determined not to lose his ubuntu and wants to take things one step at a time. His advice to others – “Play Powerball, it is real”.
In the Western Cape, a R80 ticket scooped the R6 million jackpot on the LOTTO Plus game. As a regular player of LOTTO Plus, the R6 million winner usually played for R60, this time he decided to do things differently. He then changed how he selects numbers: instead of his usual Quick Pick he used the age difference between himself and his brother and dates of family milestones. The new strategy yielded new results and in this instance, winning results! “I am a regular Wednesday and Saturday player, however this time around I changed how I play the game.” The government worker turned instant millionaire woke up the next day, got ready for work as usual, not knowing that he had just entered South Africa’s millionaires’ club. He only found out while at work that he has won big in the lottery when he checked the winning numbers online. The pleasant surprise seemed way too big a secret for him to keep and he confided in his son. Anxiety and disbelief however still got the better of him throughout the day as he found himself constantly checking his ticket which he had carefully marked with his name behind the ticket and kept safely in his wallet.
“At work I decided to check my results, I saw the match but I wasn’t sure so I put my ticket away. Every hour of the night I was checking and rechecking. I decided that the coming Saturday my family and I would double check. We hid the ticket in the bedroom, and come Saturday we all gathered around the table. We would read out loud the winning numbers, checked against our ticket for a match, underlining each number to ensure we were not mistaken,” he shares laughing.
“This will change our lives – we have been in so much debt. The bond repayments were heavy and we could barely afford the school fees. We relied a lot on borrowing – we were living from hand to mouth so this big win could not have come at a better time.”
About Ithuba Winner Services
Because we understand that winning the lottery is both a very exciting and potentially overwhelming experience. It is with this in mind that Ithuba established Winner Services department, which offers a number of complimentary services to people with winnings above R50 000. The aim is to equip our winners with tools to best invest their winnings and to cope with this sudden life-changing event. Winner Services include:
- Safeguarding winners identities
- Financial advice
- Estate planning
- Legal advice and
- Trauma and Emotional Counselling.
Editor’s Note: About Ithuba Holdings
Ithuba Holdings Proprietary “(RF), is the official operator of the National Lottery in South Africa from 1 June 2015. Since June 2015, Ithuba has reinvigorated the National Lottery through optimising the consumer experience, restoring faith and trust in the National Lottery, and showcasing its positive social contribution to our society. ITHUBA, proudly rooted in South Africa, is intent on contributing positively and actively to socio-economic development through the ethical and efficient operation of the National Lottery, and setting the benchmark for Lottery operations in SA and beyond.
