The Gauteng man who struck lucky twice on the PowerBall game has come forward to claim his winnings. The winner, who has asked not to be named, bought his two winning tickets with the same numbers from two different stores in the East of Johannesburg. Yes, two tickets that won in the same draw!

The winner who has been a regular lottery player since inception told Ithuba that he has, without fail, always played specific numbers and trusted that some day his numbers will come through. He told Ithuba that he bought the first ticket on a Friday morning while on his way to work and forgot that he had played, and made another bet later on the same day.

On that PowerBall draw, the jackpot was R30.6 million and there were four winning tickets each worth R7.6 million and the lucky Johannesburg-based engineer walked away with R15.2 million. The PowerBall draw took place on 24 March 2017.

The first winning ticket was bought at One Stop Spar in Kempton Park where he played for R45.00 and the second winning ticket was purchased at Brenthurst Supermarket, Brakpan where he also played for another R45.00. Upon discovering that he had won, he kept on checking and re-checking his two tickets, in disbelief.

The winner says he plans on investing most of his winnings which will go towards retirement and also settle all of his debts including his bond and car repayments. The winner informed Ithuba that he had also been one of those affected by the Johannesburg floods last year where his car was swept away by the floods. “This is indeed a miracle, as I can now pay off the debt I had incurred for the new vehicle and also help those in need around me”, said the PowerBall winner.

The winner described the experience as surreal and unbelievable. “My wife and I still wake up in the middle of the night in disbelief. This is the biggest win that the winner has had and came in two folds.

Ithuba congratulates the winner and this is a rare win, one that the lottery operator has not seen before. When asked whether he will continue working, the winner responded, “I will continue working and later retire on the coast”.
To those who have not yet won anything on the lottery, the winner advises players to not stop trying and to also play if they are able to afford and play responsibly.