The Afrikaans language tabloid Die Son which first carried the story of Friday night’s supposed R91m Powerball “win” by Stanley Philander has denied paying the deaf Parkwood man for his story.

But the paper has admitted spiriting him and his family away from their home to a secret destination after the story broke.

The newspaper has also admitted that the reporter who wrote the story had made a mistake by not scrutinising the “winning” ticket more carefully.

The National Lottery Board has confirmed that Philander was not the winner, as he had claimed earlier, and that his ticket had been bought on Saturday, a day after the draw, although it contained the correct numbers.

Philander’s real motive for claiming to be the winner remains unknown at this stage.

Die Son, which first carried the story of his “win” at the weekend, confirmed that they’d received a call from someone claiming to know who the winner was and had followed up.

But assistant editor Edwin Lombard insisted that they had not bought the supposed “rags-to-riches” story. “We never pay for stories,” he said.

The real winner has come forward to claim her prize and has identified herself only as being 43, married, the mother of two teenagers and from the Western Cape.

The chairman and chief executive of lotto operator Gidani, Bongani Khumalo, yesterday confirmed that the woman had been paid out her R91 068 427 jackpot prize and that she had requested to remain anonymous.

Khumalo said it was the first time that the real winner had tried her luck on the Powerball.