Durban - The winner of the R74-million Powerball Plus jackpot from Durban has finally claimed his prize.
The winner, who works in sales, said he planned to report for work on Thursday and had no intention of quitting.
“It still has to sink in,” the winner told IOL in a telephone interview on Thursday morning.
The winner’s identity has been kept confidential.
On Wednesday, National Lottery Ithuba said the winning ticket was purchased in Durban and urged players to check their tickets and proceed to their nearest National Lottery regional office to process their winnings.
The winner, who is a father of four, said he went to check his ticket in one of the shops and was told that he needed to go to an Ithuba office.
“But at that time I didn’t know I won the jackpot, I had a busy day on Wednesday, so I didn’t check again.
“Later that evening I checked the lottery website and found out I won the jackpot.”
The winner said he mostly selects his numbers manually, but he won this time with a R45 quick pick.
The winner planned on buying a new house.
He said he had been searching for a home for about six months and now his dream can materialise.
He may even consider buying a new car, even though he currently drives a “nice car”.
So what will he do with his newfound winnings?
“Invest, I plan to invest my money, share a portion with my siblings and buy houses for each of my kids.”
With the festive season around the corner, the winner will be celebrating with his kids, doing the usual stuff, spoiling them.
“But it will be the usual stuff, you won’t say I am a millionaire.”
The winner said he always knew he would win the Powerball jackpot one day.
“That’s the reason I play regularly, because I knew one day I would win the jackpot, but not this much!”
IOL