The biggest Lotto draw of the year has a $33 million Powerball jackpot up for grabs this Saturday night.
The prize pool swelled after Wednesday night’s draw when four players split a $1 million First Division win, while the Powerball jackpot rolled over once again.
A central Auckland dairy owner told 1News it had been busy in his store.
“When it’s over $20 million, everyone’s coming in to get Lotto tickets.”
Despite the excitement, Lotto NZ urged players to keep their expectations in check.
“Powerball always offers the same one in 38.3 million chance to win First Division per line, regardless of the jackpot amount,” the organisation said.
Buying more tickets will barely shift the odds further in your favour.
“Even if you buy multiple tickets for the same draw, your chances of winning will hardly increase at all. Because each new ticket has the same odds, there is no way that winning can average out in your favour over time.”
Lotto also cautioned against reading too much into near misses or relying on lucky numbers.
“Each outcome is independent and will not impact your chances of winning or losing in the future. Although a near win might feel like you’re getting closer to a big prize, you will still have the same odds next time you play.
“You can’t predict which numbers will come up in a draw-based game, and therefore any strategies or techniques are redundant.”
Meanwhile, Auckland was in the midst of a dry spell when it came to winning big on Powerball.
The last time a ticket in the City of Sails took the Powerball pot was on Christmas Day last year.
“With around a third of Aotearoa’s population living in Auckland, it’s quite an anomaly not to see any Powerball winners from the region this year,” said head of corporate communications Will Hine.
“This is the driest spell Auckland has had without winning a Powerball prize at least in the past six years.”
The Lotto draw is live on TVNZ1 and TVNZ+ at 8pm tonight.
