Powerball Millions Must be Won This Saturday

Media Release
26 October 2007

Powerball Millions Must be Won This Saturday

NZ Lotteries is taking the rare step of guaranteeing that at least one lucky player will win Powerball this Saturday after calling a a 'Must Be Won' draw this Saturday, 27 October, says NZ Lotteries' Chief Executive, Todd McLeay.

"With $2.5 million up for grabs in Powerball First Division, someone in New Zealand could very soon be the country's newest multi-millionaire.

"We can't predict where it will be won, but we can guarantee that someone will win the top prize," Mr McLeay said.

"We've called the 'Must Be Won' draw to enable exciting new changes to be launched for Powerball on 28 October.

"The major change for players is that the minimum Powerball First Division prize will be $3 million, making Powerball New Zealand's biggest jackpotting game," said Mr McLeay.

There is even potential for more than one winner to claim a share if there is no Powerball First Division winner then the prize is shared between the winners of the next highest Powerball prize division.

This happened the previous two times a 'Must Be Won' draw was called, both in 2003. On both occasions, the prize was shared between the Powerball Second Division winners with the first draw seeing 14 players win $1.3 million each, while 11 winners took home $1.5 million each in the second draw*.

For further information, frequently asked questions can be downloaded from NZ Lotteries' website, www.nzlotteries.co.nz or can be requested directly from NZ Lotteries' communications team.

* The Powerball First Division prize pools for these draws were $19.2 million and $17.1 million respectively. Changes to Lotto in 2004 mean that the number of Powerball Second Division winners are now, on average, fewer than in 2003.

ENDS

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