Powerball $17.25 million win mistaken for $17,250: ‘Got to get my eyes checked’

A Powerball winner was so excited about winning $17,250 - but it turned out to be a whopping $17.25 million.

The winning Powerball First Division ticket was sold on MyLotto to a player from Canterbury for the draw on Saturday, January 27.

The winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, joked “I’ve got to get my eyes checked.”

The Cantabrian bought the ticket earlier online on Saturday and checked it that evening.

“All my numbers started to line up, and I thought, ‘I’m going to win something – probably a bonus ticket.’ By the end, I was a bit confused and thought I’d only won $17,250,” the winner said.

Next morning when the winner did a double take, they realised they had won $17.25 million.

The winner said they felt “a bit silly” to miss all the zeros.

“But if I’d known the night before, I definitely wouldn’t have gotten much sleep!”

The winner said they planned to carry on with life as normal.

“I’m thinking of investing the money while I have a good think about what to do. There’s no rush, and I don’t want to get carried away,” the winner said.

They said the win would ensure “a comfortable retirement in the future” and were looking forward to it.