The astonishing Powerball statistics that could help you score big
- The wild statistics behind lottery winners
- Powerball's $150million jackpot drawn Thursday
- READ MORE: Struggling Australian family win $4million lottery prize
Aussies preparing for the Powerball draw should take into account the wild statistics that winners and losers share.
Powerball Draw 1462 on Thursday night has ballooned to $150million after there was no division one winner over the past six draws.
If one person correctly picks all seven numbers plus the Powerball number, they will become the biggest single lottery winner in Australian history.
Australia's largest lottery prize of $200million in February this year saw the jackpot split between two people after 9.6million tickets were sold.
While the game ultimately comes down to what numbers you choose, The Lott has revealed past winners share wild statistical similarities such as their initials, state of residence and even star signs.
PPowerball Draw 1462 on Thursday night has ballooned to $150million after there was no division one winner over the past six draws
According to The Lott, Powerball division one winners in 2023 had M, J, S, D or G as the initial for their first name almost half the time at 46.58 per cent.
'The [initials] M and J equated for more than 10 per cent of division one wins, followed by S (9.86 per cent), D (8.49 per cent) G (7.67 per cent),' The Lott noted in a statement.
It also found that there was no success for the 'Ursulas, Xaviers or Zachs' of the world, with no 2023 winners bearing the initials U, X or Z - the least common first name initials.
Men were also overly represented in the winners column for The Lott, taking home 61.9 per cent of division one wins last year.
This is despite making up 49.3 per cent of the population, according to the 2021 Census.
Meanwhile, people under the age of 60 made up more than half of all winners.
When it comes to star signs, Libras - those born between September 23 and October 22 - were the luckiest lottery entrants across 2023, making up 12.97 per cent of division one winners.
They were closely followed by Virgos at 11.72 per cent, Cancers with 10.04 per cent and Geminis at 9.21 per cent.
The average distribution of winners-per-star sign is 8.33 per cent.
While the game ultimately comes down to what numbers you choose, past winners share wild statistical similarities such as their initials, state of residence and even star signs (stock image)
Perhaps the most frustrating statistic is that since the start of the current Powerball run, in mid-April, a total of 29 people have missed winning the division one prize by having all other numbers but the Powerball.
Doing so lands them in division two, which still offers a pay day but is agonisingly short of the life-changing multi-millions of the major prize.
Division two winners over the past six weeks have collectively pocketed more than $4.35million in prize money - on average $150,000 each.
Ten of these division two winners were from New South Wales, eight from Victoria, five in Western Australia and three each in Queensland and South Australia.
A Lott spokesperson revealed that all of the division two winners would have jumped to division one if they picked the Powerball number.
'We're often asked for our biggest tip when it comes to Powerball, and when it comes to securing that all-important Powerball number, it's hard to go past the PowerHit,' the spokesperson said.
'A PowerHit is an entry type unique to Powerball that guarantees the all-important Powerball number you need to win division one.'
Tickets for tonight's $150million jackpot draw must be purchased before 7.30pm AEST.
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