Hunt to find $40M Powerball winner is over after forgetful dad finally checked his back pocket ONE WEEK later: ‘This has changed our lives’
- A Perth dad lands Powerball’s $40m
- Winner forgot ticket was in his pocket
- He plans a family business-class trip
A West Australian father who won $40m has finally come forward after he remembered he hadn’t checked the Powerball ticket in his back pocket.
The Swan Valley man bought the ticket from Springs News in Bennett Springs in Perth‘s north-east just an hour before the draw closed on March 2.
The winning ticket holder was announced on Friday when he finally checked his forgotten ticket, a week after he bought it.
The discovery ends a week-long wait for the massive Powerball winner to come forward after the dad bought a lucky Slikpik 18 ticket last week.
The winner said he bought the ticket on a spur-of-the-moment decision and was floored by his windfall.
‘I was in complete disbelief and shock when the retailer explained I had the winning ticket,’ he said.
‘This has changed our lives.’
‘I was in complete disbelief and shock when the retailer explained I had the winning ticket,’ the winning ticket holder said.
The dad decided to celebrate with his family by enjoying fish and chips for dinner.
‘We’re a tight family and will share the win together, making sure our kids and grandkids are looked after,’ he said.
The family plan to travel business class to their next holiday destination.
Owner of Springs News, Milan Vuletich, said he was shocked after discovering his store had sold the $40m prize.
‘We’ve had a decent run in selling $1m Division One prizes a few years back, but this $40m news is something special,’ Mr Vuletich said.
The winning punter became an overnight multi-millionaire after sweeping up the entire Division One jackpot last week.
The Swan Valley man bought the ticket from Springs News in Bennett Springs (pictured) in Perth’s north east just an hour before draw close on March 2
The dad’s close call at almost missing out on the huge windfall is not the only case that has puzzled lottery authorities.
Last October it was revealed $22.3million worth of lottery winnings had yet to be claimed across the country.
NSW punters held more than $9.5million worth of unclaimed prize money from 11 winnings, while Queenslanders had more than $5.5million from nine major unclaimed windfalls.
Western Australian ticket holders from three prizes worth $5.9million remained elusive, and more than $1.2million from two lottery events in Victoria were unclaimed.
Ticket holders have been encouraged to look for old lottery tickets by The Lott, which aggregates Australia’s official lotteries.
Meanwhile, Western Australia has recorded 21 division one lotto winners in 2023, sharing in $74 million in prizes.
