A Penrith dad has been revealed as the final division 1 winner of Thursday's Powerball draw, which saw three lucky Aussies share in the record-breaking $160 million jackpot.
Lotto officials were on the hunt Friday morning after one of the three division 1 winning tickets went unclaimed.
The mystery winning entry was not registered to a player card, which means lottery officials had no way of contacting the newly minted millionaire.
Just a few hours later, a dad from Penrith called Lotto officials to confirm the news.
“I told my family, ‘I think I might have won division 1’, but no one believed me,” he said after an official from The Lotto confirmed his life-changing win.
“Tell you what, they believe me now!"
“Oh my god, my family’s life just changed in a second. It hasn’t been an easy time for us lately, so this is just incredible."
The man also said that he almost missed out on grabbing his winning ticket, buying it from a small newsagency just a day before the draw.
“This means so much to me. I’ll finally be able to buy a home for my family, my kids can have whatever they want for Christmas, and we’re secure and set up for life," the man said.
In addition to the three division 1 winners, there were 6,683,605 prizes worth more than $117 million won in divisions 2 to 9 in Thursday’s Powerball draw.
Among those winners were 42 division 2 winners who each took home a $77,258.20 prize.
The $160 million Powerball jackpot was the biggest lottery prize in Australian history.
Early retirement for Victorian winner
The two other division 1 winners were located in Western Australia and Victoria.
The Victorian winner was described as blue-collar worker from Clyde who was holding back tears as they were told the good news.
“Far out. I’m absolutely speechless," the man said.
"This has changed my life. My family is set.
"My grandson wanted a dog for Christmas and I was trying to organise it for him. He can have all the dogs in the world now.
“I’m done with work! I’m out of here, mate. Retirement is calling."
The Western Australian winning entry will be managed by Lotterywest.
