By Nikita Sylvester
Staff Reporter
The Cape Town family who won R91-million in Friday night's PowerBall draw has been spirited away, apparently by employees of the National Lottery.
Stanley Philander, a deaf cleaner at a southern suburbs hardware store, became the city's newest millionaire, winning the staggering R91m in the draw.
But the win has sent Philander and his family scrambling into hiding because their newfound riches have attracted scores of strangers to their home in a family member's backyard.
Philander and his wife of 12 years, Diana - who is also deaf - told a Cape Town tabloid newspaper that they had been inundated with requests for money since their ticket matched Friday night's winning numbers.
After giving that interview, Philander and his family left their wooden home in the backyard of his sister-in-law's house in Parkwood.
Diana Philander's sister, Wilma Vlok, said that after news of Philander's win had spread on Friday night, "family members and people that I don't even know" had started visiting her home in Parkwood.
Sometime yesterday people, who Vlok believed were from the National Lottery, had taken Philander, his wife and their children, Logan and Kirsten, to an undisclosed location.
Vlok was not at home when the Philanders left, so she was not sure this morning where they were or when they would be home.
Philander, speaking through a family member to Cape Town tabloid Die Son, said strangers had arrived at his home after news of his win became public knowledge. They had demanded money from him.
This morning, Gidani spokeswoman Thembi Tulwana said the company did not yet know who the winner was, although it had been confirmed that the winning ticket belonged to someone in the Western Cape.
It is not clear how news of Philander's big win was leaked to the media.
Philander will be able to claim his prize money today.
PowerBall was launched in October last year. There are two draws each week - on Fridays and Tuesdays. The game has already made one player R30m richer when its inaugural draw in October yielded a winner.
But since November, there has been no big winner and over the past few months the figure has risen steadily.
Excited punters around South African were agog when the jackpot hit R91m.
On Friday night during the live draw show at 9.30pm on SABC 2, the winning numbers were 6, 32, 36, 38, 45 and 1.
After months, they finally matched a ticket held by a Western Cape PowerBall player.
In a release issued after the draw, Tulwana said it was "not always easy" for winners to come to terms with their new riches.
"We have trained professionals to help the winners to come to terms with their sudden fortune."
Gidani also offers big prize winners financial advice at its expense, said Tulwana.
"Financial advice sessions focus on how to invest the winnings, as well as useful information concerning banking, alternative investment programmes and tax."