Yahoo Lifestyle Powerball $100m draw: Man still losing sleep four years after 'sickening' lottery moment
After he thought he'd won it, one tiny miss cost Sunshine Coast resident Rob Brodie $40 million on the Powerball.
Only a handful of people each year will win a Powerball jackpot that will set them up for the rest of their lives. But there are hundreds of Australians who come agonisingly close to landing the coveted division one prize – only to miss out by the slimmest of margins.
One of those is 57-year-old Sunshine Coast renter Rob Brodie. In March 2020, he was just one digit away from sharing the life-changing $80 million jackpot with one other winner.
Instead, he walked away with just over $15,000.
"I think of it often to this day of how close I was and how gut-wrenching it was," he told Yahoo News Australia. "It would have made me and my two children set for life with a very comfortable life."
Playing a PowerHit entry, Rob was guaranteed the Powerball. He also matched six of the seven balls from the main draw, but instead of having number 12, he had 11.
"I'm still losing sleep over it," he admits four years on.
Do you also have a heartbreaking lottery story? Contact tom.flanagan@yahooinc.com
Powerball dream burst when no phone call came
Rob had initially thought he'd won the jackpot on the night, convinced he had all the winning numbers. He went to bed expecting a call from The Lott officials in the morning, but his phone never rang.
"I felt gutted and felt sick being only one number off. Then I thought well the second division is okay but I then learned I only won the third division."
There were five others who took home $188,000 each by winning division two. But because division two requires all seven main balls without the Powerball, Rob only qualified for division three, which needs six main balls and the Powerball, as well as division four.
Rob said if he'd won division one, he'd have also helped out his six other siblings. "I felt sorry for them and rang each one of them to say sorry I thought I had the opportunity to help them."
Instead, Rob used his $15,000 to help his son by his first car and gave a chunk of it to his daughter. He saved a small bit of his winnings so he could go on holiday, but those plans were delayed as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold.
Rob, a seafarer, who has been in the Merchant Navy for the past 30 years continues to live in his 3-bedroom rental apartment.
The Powerball draw for this Thursday, May 16, will see Australians vying for a whopping $100 million. Rob can't bring himself to buy a ticket.
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