Subj : What you need to know ahead of $50m must-win Lotto draw To : All From : News Date : Sat Jun 08 2024 01:08 pm Lotto Powerball's must-win $50 million draw tonight will come with a few changes, due to "exceptional interest" from Kiwis hoping for a big win. It is only the third time in New Zealand Lotto history the jackpot has hit the $50m mark, and the 10th must-be-won draw since Powerball began in 2001. If claimed by a single ticket, it will be the largest prize ever won. However, punters are reminded it only takes one ticket to win and not to spend beyond their means. What you need to know In a "must be won" scenario, the Powerball jackpot prize rolls down the divisions until there is a winner or winners. For example, if nobody gets all six Lotto numbers plus the Powerball number, the Powerball prize is allocated to any Powerball Division 2 winners who have the matching Powerball number. If there are no Division 2 winners with the matching Powerball number, the jackpot rolls down to any Division 3 winners who have the right Powerball number - and so on. This means there could potentially be multiple Powerball winners sharing the $50 million prize. Around two million tickets were expected to be sold for the draw and, to manage traffic on the MyLotto site, customers purchasing tickets in the last hour before sales close may be placed in a virtual queue. This virtual queue would also be used on the release of results at 9.15pm when ticketholders would be logging back in to check their numbers. Lotto also said the "extraordinarily high volume" of tickets needing to be processed meant a late opening was needed for the website on Sunday - expected to open at 10am. As a result of the wait times on Saturday and late opening of the website on Sunday, Lotto said it would also change how it communicated details of who had won the jackpot and where it was won. The winning numbers for Lotto and Powerball, the number of Powerball, Lotto, and Strike winning tickets and the amount won by each would be released as normal on Saturday night. The location and store where the winning ticket was sold would be released at around 12pm on Sunday. "We would like to thank customers in advance for their patience as we manage what we expect to be exceptional interest in the results of this huge draw," said head of corporate communications Lucy Fullarton. "With so much excitement around the draw, we want to ensure our players can enjoy the anticipation of the big win and have an opportunity to check their individual ticket before they hear in the news where the winning tickets were sold." Fullarton said customer service representatives would be on standby to assist customers and retailers before the big draw. "Even our CEO has been roped in to help answer customer queries, so he'll be working hard on web-chat tomorrow night." Since Powerball began in 2001, there have been 10 "must be won" draws. Two of those have been draws of $50 million. Two players split the $50 million prize in March 2020, each winning Powerball First Division. The two lucky players took home $25.1 million - $111,111 each from Lotto First Division and the $25 million share of the Powerball jackpot. Later that year, another $50 million "must be won" draw rolled down to Second Division, meaning the jackpot was shared between 10 winners. Kiwis dare to dream Despite odds of 38.3 million to one, ticket buyers across the country were daring to dream of what they would do if they were the lucky winners. Earlier this week, ticket buyers in Auckland and Wellington told 1News they were thinking they would be sharing the proceeds if they won - either with family or by donating to charity. Others were more circumspect, saying they would need to take time to decide what to do. But those in "big ticket item" businesses told 1News it wasn't uncommon for Lotto winners to buy expensive "dream purchases" such as cars and boats. One broker at Auckland's Westhaven Marina said quality launches were an ideal purchase for old and new boaties alike. High-tech new boats also came with full tuition to ensure the new owners were comfortable operating their new craft. Top-end motor cars were also a drawcard for enthusiasts looking for a special treat. Kiwis will have to wait until tonights draw to find out whether their Powerball dreams just might become reality. --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A44 2020/02/04 (Windows/64) * Origin: S.W.A.T.S BBS Telnet swatsbbs.ddns.net:2323 (63:10/102) .