Lotto Powerball jackpots to a jaw-dropping $50 million which much be won this Saturday

An outrageous $50 million is up for grabs this Saturday after Wednesday night's $42m Lotto Powerball prize rolled over - and some are questioning why it can't be shared.

Six lucky players split $1m for First Division last night - but no one clinched the $42m Powerball prize which has surged to $50m this weekend.

This weekend's draw is the biggest in Lotto's history in New Zealand and would make a single winner an instant rich-lister.

This Saturday also happens to fall on February 29 - Leap Day - considered to be very lucky in some parts of the world.

The winning numbers were: 30, 8, 2, 33, 21, 3, the bonus ball was 13 and the Powerball was 6.

• Read more: It turns out these are the luckiest places to buy a lotto ticket around New Zealand

And indeed it could be hugely lucky for one punter, but imagine just how much it could impact dozens of people if it was split up.

On the NZ Herald Facebook page overnight, many followers questioned why the $50m could not be split among more people.

"Imagine the greatness this money could achieve if it went to 50 families," one follower said.

On a similar theme, a second follower said: "Come on Lotto, drop it down the divisions, 50 families could benefit from $1 million each."

Another said: "I hope it doesn't go to first division or second and trickles down to third division so a heap of people win! Imagine that for so many families!!!"

One joked: "Bloody hell the whole (of) NZ is going broke before this Saturday."

Many Herald readers are speaking out about how more people and families around the country could benefit hugely if the $50m was split.

One man wrote: "I have been wondering about it for ages. Creating one person with $50 million is contrary to our social goal of income distribution and contributes to child poverty.

"One million is a hell of a lot of money for most of us. Lotto NZ has a social responsibility to enrich more families - even more than the Government."

The winning First Division tickets were sold at: Four Square Coopers Beach, Northland; Countdown Mt Eden, Auckland; Trafalgar Lotto, Whanganui; online in Wellington; Nelson City New World and New World Centre City, Dunedin.

In the minutes after the numbers were drawn, visitors to Lotto's website spiked, with the site reporting "more visitors than normal" and adding "sorry if you have trouble accessing some pages".

Wednesday's jackpot was just $2m shy of New Zealand's biggest ever win, with $44m won by a young Hibiscus Coast couple in November 2016.

During the live draw last night, Lotto presenter Jordan Vandermade broke down just how significant the record win would be.

"Powerball First Division has been won 184 times over its history, but not yet in 2020.

"My goodness me, the whole country's been talking about it.

"I was in the stores today, you can feel the energy. Have a think, while this machine spins these balls around, just how your life would change..."

Last year's biggest win was at $22.3m Powerball prize that went to a woman who bought her ticket from a store in Taranaki.

Lotto's biggest Powerball winner was a young family just north of Auckland who took home a whopping $44.3m four years ago.

This article was first published on the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.