Woman dumps SA man — and then he wins R60m PowerBall

TimesLIVE

5 years ago

The man, who hasn’t been named, says he is ready to settle down and start a family – as soon as he finds a good woman

A woman who recently broke up with her boyfriend is out of luck after he claimed R60m in PowerBall winnings on Friday. Stock photo.
Image: 123RF/milkos

A South African financial professional in his early 30s, whose girlfriend had just broken up with him, doused himself in ice-cold water when he realised he had just won R60m.

In a statement, PowerBall and Lotto operator Ithuba Holdings said the man had claimed his winnings on Tuesday after winning Friday’s draw.

“I still cannot believe that I have won this much! The most I’ve won from the lottery is R500,” he said.

He said he had recently been dumped, but his luck had since changed.

“My live-in girlfriend had just broken up with me, and I was not in the best of moods. By the time I checked the results on Friday night, I was by myself as she had already moved out,” he said, speaking through Ithuba.

“When I realised that I had won, I thought I was dreaming. I immediately went to take a cold shower and then came back to check again. It was real — lady luck was on my side, but clearly not so much for her!”

“I am not going to resign. At the rate things are going, I am anticipating a retrenchment in the organisation that I work for and in the industry as a whole. So I will wait for the retrenchment package and my upcoming bonus. It’s money that I have worked hard for, so I am definitely waiting for it,” he said.

As well as investing his money, he plans to donate some of his winnings to those in need.

“It is really heartbreaking to witness the impact of the pandemic in our society. I want to help as many people as I can to meet at least some of their basic needs. I also want to do animal charity work as I feel that animals have really been neglected throughout this pandemic,” he said.

“Oh, and I will also buy my ex-girlfriend a fridge, probably a washing machine too, just to say ‘no hard feelings’.”

He added that he is ready to settle down and start a family of his own, as soon as he finds a good woman.

by Orrin Singh