Powerball lotto frenzy in Australia as huge queues form at newsagents for $160MILLION draw

The nation’s largest-ever lottery is set to be drawn in a matter of hours – sparking huge queues at newsagents across the country as Australians rush to get their ticket in the $160million draw. 

Up to half of of the country’s adults are expected to have bought an entry hoping to cash in on the massive jackpot before it closes at 7.30pm AEST on Thursday.

If there is only one winner for tonight’s Powerball draw number 1380 then that person will become the richest individual lottery winner in Australia’s history. 

Powerball’s $100million prize skyrocketed an extra $60million after the draw failed to produce a winner for the fifth week in a row last Thursday.

Australians are heading to newsagents to get their tickets before entries close at 7.30pm AEST to the $160million Powerball draw – the country’s biggest ever lottery jackpot (pictured: Eastgardens shopping centre in Sydney)

By 6pm many newsagents were bustling with large queues forming as people headed to get their entry after work (pictured: a queue at a Sydney CBD newsagent)

Last month, The Lott revealed the most frequently drawn winning numbers between July 1, 2021 and the end of June, 2022. 

From the main barrel, winning numbers included 17, 9, 2 and 25 with the least frequently drawn numbers of 33, 31, 34 and 6.

For the separate Powerball barrel, the most frequently drawn number is 19, while 18, 16 and 14 are the least drawn. 

Some workers at newsagencies took to social media to say they are bracing for an intensely busy week – especially on Thursday afternoon.

If there is only winner in tonight’s draw they will become the country’s biggest ever lottery winner

The prize has skyrocketed after five weeks with no winner and the jackpot rolling over

One worker, who works at a newsagency in Newcastle, NSW shared their coworkers’ reactions to the record-breaking Powerball. 

A screenshot of the group conversation was shared on Reddit on October 21 with the caption ‘my coworkers reactions to the Powerball results’.

One colleague wrote: ‘Powerball went up to 160m.’  

Coworkers replied with crying, tired and flushed face emojis, while the worker’s boss replied with ‘Oh s***’. 

The poster, known as Reddit user the_egg9926, wrote they had never seen a jackpot so high and their store was going to be flat out. 

Newsagents were expecting a big week after the prize jumped up $60million from last week

Newsagents are bracing for a busy Thursday evening (left). One Newsagent worker from Newcastle shared their co-workers’ reactions on Reddit following the announcement the jackpot had hit $160million, with their boss commenting ‘oh s***'(right) 

The Lott’s James Eddy said if a single person claims the ‘monumental draw’, they would become Australia’s biggest lottery winner in history. 

‘Winning $160 million would immediately change your life and those of your nearest and dearest, but it would also be amazing to claim the title of biggest Australian lottery winner in history,’ Mr Eddy said. 

‘As this is the largest Australian jackpot ever offered, we’re expecting it to be busy in-store and online in the lead-up to this monumental draw.’ 

Ticket holders must have the winning combination of seven wining numbers plus the all-important Powerball number needed to score the division one prize.

A huge queue at Town Hall in Sydney as commuters get their tickets in rush hour

Newsagents are celebrating the event hoping to sell the winning entry (pictured: a Shellharbour newsagent) 

Before this week, the biggest Powerball win up for grabs was set at $107million and was won by a Sydney nurse in 2019. 

The proud mum opened up on her win two years later in 2021 revealing she initially thought she had won $107,000. 

Surprisingly, the humble nurse said the lotto win didn’t change very much about her life and offered this week’s winner some strange advice: ‘If it’s possible and you can stand it, wake up the next morning and go to work.’ 

‘It gives you normality, and it allows the news to slowly sink in.’

She followed with a reminder to make sure you’re well-prepared when the check arrives. 

The largest ever Powerball win was set at $107million and was won by a Sydney nurse in 2019

The winner of Australia’s former biggest jackpot was a nurse (stock image) in Sydney who urged the lucky winner of this week’s jackpot to talk to a financial advisor

‘Run, don’t walk, to a really good financial adviser,’ the Sydney winner said.

‘It takes two weeks for the prize money to come through. I used those two weeks to engage a financial adviser who I really trusted.’

She added winners need to be careful about who they tell. 

‘Only a handful of people know,’ she said of her win.

‘Take some time to think about who you might tell before you start sharing the news with your family and friends, and let the story get out of the headlines first.

‘I have a small group of very loyal friends, and you just don’t know how people will react but I haven’t had any negative responses.

‘If this news affects relationships in a negative way, then it’s probably time for that relationship to end anyway and that’s just natural.

‘Honestly, everyone we told were in tears, genuine, happy tears!

‘The people I have told were all so thrilled to be let in on the secret and be one of the people who helped guide me in the right direction.

‘No one ever asked me for money, not one person. I told people it had been locked away.’

She said one of the few people to know about her life-changing win was her boss but it wasn’t followed by a resignation.   

‘When I told my boss, she just grabbed me and gave me the biggest hug,’ she said.

‘She was so thrilled, but it was hard for me to tell her initially because you just don’t know how it’s going to go.

‘She was more worried about if I was going to quit my job but I told her I needed to keep working.

‘Nursing is something that is in my DNA. I can’t not do it!’

While continuing to live a modest life, the down-to-earth nurse said it was the small things she wouldn’t normally be able to afford that made her win special.

‘Being able to buy fresh flowers is a luxury. It’s the little things like that, that I don’t have to feel guilty about,’ she said.

‘I can buy a nicer bottle of wine now after (previously) celebrating with a cheap bottle of chardonnay.’

But the nurse revealed the real prize from her record-breaking win was being able to afford experiences with her family.

‘I love books and to be able to go into a bookshop and buy whatever book I want is amazing. It’s things like that that I don’t take for granted,’ she said.

‘And having the ability to travel with the children is incredible. We never thought we’d be able to afford to do that. It was always out of reach for us, so to have those memories is priceless.’

As well as these luxuries, the Sydney family bought a lovely home, and hoped that future generations would continue to live in it.