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'I'll use the millions to build a house, pay varsity fees, buy dream car,' says PowerBall winner

A 50-year-old Free State man came forward this week to claim his R38.8m PowerBall jackpot
A 50-year-old Free State man came forward this week to claim his R38.8m PowerBall jackpot
Image: Supplied

Years of poverty, suffering and unfulfilled dreams are yesterday’s news for a 50-year-old from Kroonstad in the Free State after he bagged a whopping R38.8m PowerBall jackpot.

Sharing his story with National Lottery operator Ithuba, the man said he has been battling to make ends meet since being retrenched as a truck driver in 2017. “Since my retrenchment, I have been working odd jobs at different places,” he said.

"One thing that I never stopped doing is playing the lottery. I have been a loyal lottery player for more than 10 years now and I've always believed that one day I will win the jackpot."

The man is one of the two people who won the R77.7m PowerBall jackpot in April, each bagging over R38.8m. He only came forward this week to claim his prize.

Elaborating about his suffering before the win, the man said one of the hardest things he had to endure after losing his job was watching his daughter drop out of university to work a low-paying job to help support the family.

“This really broke my heart. I felt like my family had lost an opportunity to get out of poverty. We were really looking forward to her graduating and leading a fulfilling career [and] life."

Reflecting on the recent turn of events, the man believes a new life now awaits him and his family. “With this enormous PowerBall win, the chains of poverty have finally broken. Our lives are going to change for the better," he said.

“I will use the money to build a house for my family, ensure that my daughter goes back to school, buy my dream car and finally, invest a large portion of my winnings to secure my family’s future.”

Ithuba said it offered free psychological counselling and financial advice to all winners of over R50,000.


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