Dreaming of the ultimate way to make 2024 your best year yet? You're not the only one! Up to half of Aussie adults are expected to vie for Thursday’s $150 million Powerball jackpot – Australia’s biggest lottery prize so far this year, and the second-biggest jackpot the nation has ever seen.

Should one person take home this mammoth prize, they’ll not only be Powerball’s first division one winner of the year but also claim the title of Australia’s biggest individual lottery winner!

We'll be eagerly waiting to see if we get to break the life-changing news to any winners after the draw (1445) on Thursday, 25 January 2024.

As excitement builds for this jackpot jaugernaut, we’ve taken a look at the winning trends that emerged from Australia's recent lottery winners. Perhaps there are a few details you have in common with these everyday Aussies who scored big! 

Initials

People with the initials of M, J, S, D and G took home almost half of the division one wins in 2023 (46.58%). The letter M and J equated for more than 10% of division one wins, followed by S (9.86%), D (8.49%) and G (7.67%). However, there was no success for the Ursulas, Xaviers or Zachs of the world, as there were no division one winners in 2023 with the initials of U, X or Z.

Gender

Men had the best fortune in 2023, taking home around two-thirds (61.9%) of the individual division one wins. 

Age

More than half of 2023's division one winners were aged under 60 years. People in their 60s have won more than a quarter (30.54%) of prizes last year. The youngest division one winner was 24, while the eldest was 89. 

Zodiac

Libras have enjoyed the most division one wins in 2023 (12.97%), followed by Virgos (11.72%), Cancers (10.04%) and Geminis (9.21%)

Of course, the one thing all our winners had in common was a lottery ticket in their hand! 

For your chance to win $150 million this week, make sure you grab an entry in-store, online or via The Lott app before the draw closes 7:30pm AEST, Thursday 25 January. 

To give an indication of the scale of excitement projected for the upcoming draw, the peak of sales for last week’s $100 million Powerball draw was at 5.46pm when Aussies grabbed 7,224 entries in a single minute.

We’re expecting similar interest in this week’s massive draw, so we recommend you get in early to grab your ticket and register your entries to a player card or online account for a chance to receive a life-changing call on Thursday night.

While it’s fun to delve into the history books and see the trends among previous division one winners, the only thing that’s certain is Powerball is a game of chance that surprises and delights with every draw.

Only time will tell if this week’s $150 million Powerball prize is won. Good luck!  

The above information is compiled from division one and major prize wins across The Lott jurisdictions in Saturday Lotto, Monday & Wednesday Lotto, Oz Lotto, Powerball, Set for Life, Super 66, and Lotto Strike from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023. Data only includes division one prize winners where the birth year/first initial is known.