A Johannesburg pensioner has won R135 million in the national lottery – the second-highest jackpot of the year.
The Rosettenville resident said he would use the money to buy a home for his family.
“I was so excited when I found that I won, I kept on screaming, ‘I got it, I got it!’. I have decided I am going to buy a new house for my family. Winning this amount is going to change our lives in a very big way,” the winner said.
The pensioner, who worked in the construction industry for 40 years, attributed his winnings to his strong faith in God.
The big payout was one of several made in the last two weeks, totalling more than R381 million. A salesman from KwaZulu-Natal won a PowerBall PLUS jackpot of R74 million, and Saturday’s Lotto PLUS 2 jackpot of R6 million was won by a player from North West.
Wednesday’s Lotto jackpot of R74 million was won by a player who had not yet claimed their prize. As the winner played on the FNB app, he or she would be notified via SMS and then be contacted directly by FNB.
Meanwhile, Ithuba, the operator of the national lottery, made a final call on the Cape Town winner who had not yet claimed more than R7.5 million from the PowerBall PLUS draw which took place on 3 December 2021.
The ticket was bought at Ravensmead Supermarket, and the player has three days to claim the winnings.
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Players have 365 days to claim their winnings from the draw date, and if the jackpot prize remains unclaimed, it will expire on 3 December 2022.
Unclaimed prizes go towards the National Lottery Distribution Fund, as well as towards other jackpot prize pools.
“We would like to urge our Ravensmead players, as well as our players from across the country, to check all their unclaimed winnings as soon as possible. We would further like to emphasise that winners who present expired tickets will not be paid out,” Ithuba CEO Charmaine Mabuza said.
“We have a team of financial advisors who are on standby, ready to provide advice to our lottery winners, as well as psychologists who will provide trauma counselling.”
News24
