Unknowing $4.5 million Lotto winner had winning ticket in bag for weeks

An Auckland man unknowingly possessed a winning lottery ticket for more than two weeks before discovering he had won $4.5 million.

Auckland Man Claims $4.5 Million Prize

The Powerball winning ticket was purchased from a dairy in Glen Innis on February 18th. The winner was unaware he held the unclaimed prize and continued to carry the ticket in his work bag.

He only checked the ticket when he revisited the dairy two and a half weeks later. “I didn’t know anyone from Auckland had won – never mind that it hadn’t been claimed. It was in my bag the whole time, coming with me to and from work and wherever else I’ve been,” he said.

The man, who typically only buys lottery tickets occasionally, usually checks them during his regular trips to the shops, explaining the delay in discovering his win.

Upon learning of his fortune, a Lotto operator led him to a private area to deliver the news. “The Lotto operator said, ‘Ahh, we’ve been waiting for you – come with me’, and took me out the back. That’s where they told me I’d won $4.5 million.”

“I think I was in shock – I just couldn’t believe it,” he said.

He shared the news with his family that evening, where one member initially suspected a prank. “He said, ‘Hey, can you come here? I’ve got something I need to tell you’,” a family member recalled. “When he told us, I just waited… expecting him to turn around laughing and say ‘jokes!’ but he didn’t – he was very serious!”

The winner is now enjoying the newfound freedom and plans to “take things slow.”

“There will be a lot of decisions to make, so I know I need to take time to really think things through. The main thing I want to do is buy a home for my family – that’s always been a dream of mine – and later we’d love to go on a big family trip together.”

The $4.5 million prize consists of $4 million from Powerball and $500,000 from Lotto First Division.