A MacGregor university student in his 20s will swap textbooks and exams for an immediate early retirement focusing on family and friends after winning $20 million in Thursday night's Powerball draw. 

The Brisbane man held the only division one winning entry in Powerball draw 1283, drawn Thursday 17 December 2020. He takes home the entire $20 million jackpot. 

Speaking to us moments after he checked his ticket, the winner couldn’t hide his excitement at becoming one of Australia’s newest multi-millionaires. 

“Oh man! Oh my god! I can’t believe it!” he yelled. 

“I just checked my ticket. Who do you call first? I’ve been through my phone trying to call my family to tell them, but they’re all asleep! I’ll have to tell them in the morning, but they’ll see all these missed calls from me. 

“It’s funny as all day I was meaning to get a Powerball ticket, but I was busy and never got to it. This evening, I kept thinking ‘ok, what am I forgetting?’, which is when I remembered to get my ticket before the draw closed. 

“Every time I’ve seen the news about a lottery winner, I’ve thought ‘that lucky guy, it’s going to be me next time’. I can’t believe it’s happened. Oh man! 

“I don’t think I’m going to get much sleep tonight. I’ll have to watch a movie to calm myself down!” 

The Powerball winner declared he already had some initial plans for this $20 million prize, with a focus on family and friends. 

“I’m never going to work again!” he exclaimed. 

“People give their whole lives to work, but I’m going to put my family and friends first. I’m going to help them and surprise them – some have been through a tough year. 

“There’s also some charities I support and now I’ll be able to give them even more.”

The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, purchased his winning entry online at thelott.com – Australia’s official lotteries.