Half-time hero: NSW man lands $172K Powerball prize as Kangaroos edge Kiwis

Most of us check our numbers and move on. This NSW Oz Lotteries player checked his, checked them again, then woke his wife to tell her.

He’s our newest Powerball winner, taking home $172,364.45 in Division 2 of Powerball Draw 1587 on Thursday 15 October 2026.

Checking the Powerball results at half-time

He was on the couch watching the Rugby League World Cup opener. At half-time the Powerball draw results came up on the telly. He’d bought two entries in the Oz Lotteries app earlier that afternoon, a 100-game standard entry and a 36-game standard entry, and he’d forgotten about them.

“Maybe I’ll just check while I’m on the couch,” he thought.

A few taps later he was looking at the Powerball results. He had all 7 winning numbers on his 100-game entry, which he knew was a Div 2 win.

“I’ve been playing for ages and I’m thinking there’s no way this is true,” he said.

A big night for the Aussies

When play resumed, the Kangaroos held on to beat the New Zealand Kiwis 24-22 in a tight opener at Allianz Stadium in Sydney.

By full-time he had two wins to celebrate.

“She actually didn’t believe me”

His wife was the first to know, though it took some convincing.

“I woke her up and she actually didn’t believe me. I said, no, no, I promise you we won.”

He wanted to see it in writing before he really believed it. He’s an early riser anyway, so he waited for our winner’s email. It arrived around 5am on Friday and confirmed his Division 2 prize of $172,364.45. Our team called him that morning to congratulate him.

Riding the holiday high

The family had just got back from two weeks in Hawaii. Most people come home from a holiday a bit flat. He’s already booked a summer getaway over the New Year, and now he can enjoy it a bit more.

Asked whether anyone would be spoiled, he answered straight away.

“The missus definitely needs to be spoiled. Happy wife, happy life.”

Did anyone win Powerball tonight?

Yes. Draw 1587 had a big Division 1 result, with one winner taking the Powerball $100 million prize. So the Powerball jackpot for next Thursday’s draw goes back to $10 million.

Division 1 isn’t the only way to win. Players take home prizes across all nine divisions every week, just like our NSW winner. Check the latest Powerball results on Oz Lotteries straight after each Powerball draw.

Play Powerball with Oz Lotteries

Play Powerball online or in the Oz Lotteries app, and buy Powerball tickets any time up until the draw closes. Every entry is kept safely in your account, so there’s no paper ticket to lose, and we’ll email you when you win.

Oz Lotteries is proudly Australian-owned and an authorised reseller of official Australian lotteries. That means it’s easy to play, you can trust where you play, and you have more ways to win every week.

Congratulations to our newest Division 2 Powerball winner. Enjoy the celebrations, and enjoy that summer getaway even more.