$20M Powerball Jackpot Winners Ignored Winning Phone Call, Thought It Was 'Bad News'

A couple in the Australian capital of Canberra ignored the phone calls that would have informed them that they had won the lottery because they thought the calls would bring "bad news."

The unnamed couple, who are in their 30s and live in the district of Belconnen, ignored the first two calls from lottery officials before they finally picked up the phone on Thursday night and were informed they had won the AUD$20,507,103.16 ($15.2 million) jackpot from Powerball, according to a statement from The Lott, which organized the lottery.

"I saw I had two missed calls, and I thought, 'Who's calling me at this time?' I thought, 'I'm not answering this. They're probably ringing with bad news.' I'm glad I answered now!" one of the winners was quoted as saying in the statement.

"We were literally still working when you called," they added.

Their entry also scored division two 19 times, which increased their total winnings to $20,852,900.31 ($15.5 million).

The couple's entry — the only division one winning entry in the Australian Capital Territory — had matched the winning numbers of 17, 25, 12, 5, 4, 28 and 14 in Thursday's Powerball draw 1320, which had an all-important Powerball number of 10 as well. Their ticket was reportedly purchased online through Lott's website.

"I don't buy lottery tickets that often, but lately we've been like, 'let's just do it. Who knows?'" one of the winners said.

"No jokes, two nights ago, I was lying in bed, and these numbers pop into my head randomly. I bought a ticket into Set for Life using those numbers. But while I was getting that, I just thought I'd throw in a PowerHit entry as Powerball had $20 million," they explained.

The couple had often fantasized about what they would do if they ever won the "big one," and now, they are looking forward to turning some of those dreams into a reality, according to the Lott statement.

"I want to help my parents and siblings. I want to buy a house for our young family. It's going to make a world of a difference," the winning man said.

"This is just going to mean a lot for the whole family," he noted.