In the weirdest Powerball lottery draw, Tuesday night’s winning Powerball numbers were 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and the Powerball number was also 10.
But the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) maintains that there was no konkelry in the number selection in Tuesday night’s draw.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the NLC said the occurrence, while uncommon, is not impossible, with the odds of any set of numbers selected for PowerBall being 1 in 42 million.
NLC’s Ndivhuho Mafela said: “The results generated in a Powerball draw revealed a selection of numbers that have drawn public scrutiny.
“The NLC would like to assure all South Africans that all National Lottery games and methods used to conduct draws undergo a rigorous process of review prior to approval by the NLC.
“This is to ensure that the National Lottery is conducted with integrity and all players are afforded an equal chance of winning prizes.”
The odd sequence created at least 20 new millionaires who will each share R5.6m from the original jackpot of what was an estimated R113m.
A nervously excited Johannesburg pensioner is now R5.6m richer.
Ithuba Lottery spokesperson Busisiwe Msizi explains: “He is a married pensioner with three adult children.
She adds: “What I found interesting was that they told us that they have been playing these same numbers for six years.
“Lots of people play these simple basic combinations and it just so happened that 20 people selected these numbers manually, no quick pick, and last night was their turn of luck.”