Powerball jackpot: One lucky South African won R28 million on Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th – a day universally believed to bring bad luck – turned out to be a good luck charm for one South African who bagged the R28 million Powerball Plus jackpot.

Powerball Plus Jackpot, 13 May 2022

The winner – who matched all five numbers and the Power Ball for the R28,145,803 jackpot – wasn’t the only lucky player on Friday.

Two players matched five numbers in the Plus draw for a payout of R145,382.60 each, while 28 players matched four numbers and the PowerBall – each claiming R6,502.80.

The PowerBall Plus jackpot thus starts afresh with R3 million in the upcoming draw.

Powerball Jackpot, 13 May 2022

Meanwhile, two players matched five numbers and the PowerBall in the standard draw, each walking away with a R323,152.30 payout.

A prize of R11,563.30 went to the 35 players who matched four numbers with the PowerBall.

The R110 million Powerball Jackpot went unclaimed and rolled over to R120 million for the next draw on 17 May 2022.

Ironically, ball number 13 was drawn for the Powerball Jackpot’s power ball (which went unclaimed). Perhaps the day shouldn’t be considered unlucky after all?

We assume the winner doesn’t suffer from triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13), or paraskevidekatriaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th).

Friday the 13th origins

If a Friday falls on the 13th of the month, it is considered unlucky. The day is also associated with death and deceit.

This ties in with the superstition that 12 is the number of perfection. Fear of Friday the 13 has biblical roots, and stems from Jesus Christ’s last supper and crucifixion.

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Many believe Christ was crucified on a Friday. However, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke clashed with John’s record because they used a different calendar.

As per Professor Colin Humphreys of Cambridge University, Christ’s final day was 1 April AD33 – a Wednesday, not a Friday, nor the 13th.

That still leaves The Last Supper painting by Leonardo da Vinci, which showed 13 disciples gathered around Christ, with Judas Iscariot depicted as the 13th member of the party.