Perth gym buddies take home entire $80 million Powerball jackpot
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On Thursday night, a group of 54 women won $1.5 million each after scooping the entire $80 million Powerball jackpot, the biggest prize pool in years.
The winners are all gym buddies at Curves Heathridge at the Belridge Shopping Centre who paid just $5 for a ticket and now have an extra $1.45 million each in their bank account.
Photo from Amber Johnston.
“A group of us ladies from my gym were out at our Christmas dinner, and one of the husbands rang and said, ‘hey, I think you ladies won the lotto’,” recalled gym owner Sue who shared her excitement on the radio the morning after.
“So I got the ticket out, and we checked the numbers, and you should have seen the restaurant; it went into absolute chaos. It turned to mayhem.”
Sue said she spent her morning making calls to the fortunate winners.
“I have just had the greatest morning ringing people to tell them they have won $1.5 million. There are still about ten people I haven’t been able to get hold of yet,” she said.
Sadly (or luckily for the winners), not everyone at the gym chipped in. But for those who did, Sue said the prize money would be “life-changing”.
“To win this and to share it with 55 of the most amazing women that I work with every day is the greatest thing ever, and I feel so blessed that I’ve been able to share it with them, and it is life-changing for all of us, and we are just beside ourselves, we really are.”
Sue’s husband was recently made redundant and was due to finish work in just a few weeks. She said the win couldn’t have come at a better time.
“So, we were starting to get a little bit worried about what the future was holding for us, so this has taken all that away now. We don’t have to worry anymore; life’s good.”
Sue also clarified that she would not stop working at the gym, saying: “These ladies are my life, so I’m still going to be here with them.”
Photo credit: Iain Gillespie / The West Australian.
Lorna, another gym member who also chipped in for the ticket, said she felt a little shaky and was having “palpitations” after the announcement.
She didn’t go to the Christmas dinner with Sue and the others because she had another function, so she was surprised when she received the call.
“I came home late, hopped into bed and checked my phone, and I had these missed calls, and I thought ‘why would the gym be calling me?’” said Lorna.
“So, I rang them back, and I said ‘I hope you’re ringing to tell me we’ve won Powerball’, and she said ‘yeah, we have’.”
“I said ‘don’t toy with my emotions, I am not in the mood for it’ and she said ‘Nah, we’ve got it, and we are the sole ticket’,” she recalled.
“She said ‘get out of bed, get dressed and come down’ and I could hear people screaming and champagne popping in the background.”
“When I got to the restaurant, there were all these crazy women taking over the restaurant and the carpark, and we have been drinking and talking and texting all night.”
Lorna expressed that she felt excited for everyone who won the prize money, especially in “these miserable post-COVID times”.
“We go to the gym just to try to keep strong, and we just laugh and have a great time, and I am just thrilled for the other women,” she said.
“It means a few financial woes have just gone for me and a few people I love.”
“In these miserable post-COVID times, even when we had the lockdown, I know the lady that runs the gym struggled a bit, and I’ve got a small business.”
Like Sue, Lorna has no plans on quitting her current job as a nurse who runs a small business for Chemotherapy at Home.
After their wondrous win, the group was planning to head to Curves and wear their gym gear for a laugh.
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