SECRETS TO WINNING LOTTO
BILLIE REASON SPILLS THE BEANS ON WHAT IT’S LIKE TO WIN BIG AND HOW YOU CAN INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF HITTING THE JACKPOT!
WHAT DOES YOUR ROLE ENTAIL?
I’m a media and communications officer for Lotterywest in WA, where I’m able to break the winning news to our Division One Lotto winners, as well as chat to the stores that sell our tickets. I also get to share the amazing stories that come out of the Lotterywest community.
WHAT’S THE BEST PART OF THE JOB?
I’ve never met an unhappy person! From speaking to the small businesses that sell our games to the lucky winners whose lives have changed from a Lotto win, it’s pretty heartwarming. I also get to speak to the community groups who’ve been able to get their event or project off the ground from Lotterywest support through our grants program – it’s all inspiring and incredibly motivating.
HOW DOES LOTTO HELP THE COMMUNITY?
Lotterywest is unique to Australia and one of the few in the world where all available profits are returned to support the community. Last financial year, we contributed $292 million to the WA community through our grants program, thanks to our players and the hardworking retailers who sell our tickets. Lotterywest has been around since the early 1930s and has operated with the same purpose of supporting the community, so we’ve definitely stood the test of time.
WHAT’S IT LIKE TO TELL PEOPLE THEY’VE WON THE LOTTERY?
It’s amazing and always a magic moment. I’ve really seen it all – disbelief, happy tears, screams and even a pair of dentures falling out from their jaw dropping!
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST JACKPOT YOU’VE HANDED OUT?
Personally, the biggest win I’ve ever given to a WA winner is $16.6 million to a very deserving mum and dad. The biggest win in WA ever was $50 million in 2015 from Midland.
WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS AFTER A WIN?
In WA, when you’ve struck it lucky and have won Division One, you come into Lotterywest Head Office to meet us and to verify the ticket. It’s in our Winner’s Room that we get to deliver the winning news and the winner fills out the necessary paperwork to collect their prize. We do have a two-week provisional period so the
winner has some much-needed time to think about how they might use their prize money – but it’s completely up to them, with many going on to share their prize with loved ones.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE WINNER’S STORY?
One that will always stick out to me is a mum from Kalgoorlie who won a $3 million Powerball prize and was the only Division One winner across the nation. She checked her ticket on the way to work in the morning, but was so worried about running late for her job that she stuffed the multi-million dollar ticket in her handbag. She said she spent the day in a daze and had what
I can only imagine was the most nerve-racking sixhour drive to Perth of her life. I don’t think she’d slept a wink before she got to our Winner’s Room.
Another one I still laugh about is a man in his 70s from Victoria Park, giving the most epic ‘I told you so’ moment ever to his wife. He’d been playing Saturday Lotto for years and his wife thought he was crazy for even trying. He kept it from her until they came into the Winner’s Room, where I got to tell them together that they’d won just over $1 million. Her face was priceless and I’d say she never doubted him again after that.
“TELLING PEOPLE THEY’VE WON THE LOTTERY IS AMAZING AND ALWAYS A MAGIC MOMENT”
ARE THERE ANY HOTSPOTS WHERE PEOPLE WIN THE MOST? IS THERE ANY REASON FOR THIS?
So far this year in WA, we’ve had 20 Division One winners share in more than $52 million. There’s been a great spread of winners from Kalgoorlie right up to Broome in 2021, with Spearwood producing two Saturday Lotto Division One winners just two weeks apart! Lotto is a game of chance, and luck can strike you at any time.
HOW CAN PEOPLE INCREASE THEIR CHANCES OF WINNING?
With Powerball, you can buy a ticket called a Powerpik, which gives you the Powerball number that you need to win Division One. It increases your chance of winning.
WHAT ARE YOUR TOP TIPS FOR PEOPLE PLAYING THE LOTTO?
It’s a cliche, but you’ve got to be in it to win it! Luck can strike any time. I’ve even seen it strike twice. Whether you’d like to play our most popular game, Saturday Lotto, or want to chase sky-high jackpots with OZ Lotto or Powerball, there’s a game every day of the week.
WHAT’S THE NEXT BIG JACKPOT?
Our next big jackpot coming up is the $20 million Saturday Lotto Superdraw on May 8. Saturday Lotto is the game that produces the most millionaires every year!