The $100 million jackpot for Powerball draw 1414 on Thursday, June 22 is the biggest prize offered by any Australian lottery game this year.
Interestingly, five of the eight Powerball division one winning entries of 2023 to date have been marked entries – where people have selected the numbers on their ticket.
This is the opposite of previous years when QuickPicks (where the lottery terminal randomly generates the numbers on the ticket) have scored the most division one wins.
While Powerball is a game of chance, and every number has an equal chance of being drawn, there are some numbers we have seen drawn out of the barrel more often than others.
From the main barrel, where seven winning numbers are drawn from 35, the most frequently drawn numbers are 17, 7, 9, 2 and 28, while the least frequently drawn are 31, 33, 34, 15 and 6.
From the separate Powerball barrel, where a single Powerball number is drawn from 20, the most frequently drawn Powerball numbers are 3 and 19, while the least frequently drawn Powerball numbers are 14 and 16.
The Lotto spokesperson James Eddy said up to half of Australian adults were expected to have an entry into this week’s draw in the hope they became Powerball’s ninth division one winner of 2023.
You thought ours was bad?
If you were shocked by the recommendation our rates may need to increase by seven percent a year for six years - and well you should be - spare a thought for some of the other ratepayers across the state.
IPART last week announced it had approved special rate variations for 17 council areas in NSW, with some facing rate increases of more than 90 per cent during the proposed timeframes.
Strathfield Municipal Council has been approved for a 92.83 per cent rate increase over four years, with a 35 per cent increase in the next financial year alone.
Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council is approved for a 64.3 per cent over three years and Lithgow City Council has been approved to implement a 45.78 per cent in one year (2023-24).
Of the 17 approved, the closest to us is Federation Council, which has been given approval for a temporary special rate variation of 39.2 per cent over two years (19 per cent in 2023-24 and 17 per cent in 2024-25).
However the NSW Minister for Local Government had little sympathy for councils, saying in parliament “Mayors from a variety of councils have been coming to see me and writing to me, talking about the financial sustainability of local government,” he said.
“I point out to them that financial sustainability is not about rate increases; it is about getting their own finances in order. It is about monitoring their own finances and making sure that they are accountable for their own expenses.
Minister Hoenig said councils “were very good at putting their hand out” and “spending their time making submissions to upgrade their categories to earn more fees when we are putting through legislation to freeze our own salaries and that of senior public servants”.
He said councils were quite happy to embark upon some “egregious expenses” and mentioned an aged-care facility in Kiama, along with Ryde council spending $10,000 for a weekend for the mayor and councillors at the Hyatt Regency in Sydney CBD.
“Local government needs to face its own expenditure issues before it comes bleating to the State Government and asking for an allocation of funds when it is itself facing a $180 billion deficit.”
The minister said he would ask mayors about their financial accountability and their expenditure before they start asking the State to pay for the “fire trucks going down their street, which they are responsible for paying for”.
Check out their winning style
Country Wedding and Event Hire recently teamed with Deniliquin Florist to set up a site at the Echuca- Moama bridal Expo.
They received the award for ‘Best Presented Stand, 2023’ award.
Owner Donna Jefferies said “Angie from Deniliquin Florist did an amazing job with our flowers, the colours were incredible.
“It was an honour to receive the award and the comments and feedback remind us why we love what we do.”