Advertisement

Family's desperate search after losing $1 million winning Lotto ticket

The lotto player had everyone hunting for his missing ticket after realising he'd won $1 million.

An Aussie man’s $1 million lotto win was rocked by the realisation that he’d misplaced his ticket.

The panicked player from New South Wales, who’d been playing for “years”, picked up one of the four division one winning entries across Australia in the Monday & Wednesday Lotto draw last night.

But it was a tense few moments while he scoured for his ticket.

“Would you believe I lost the ticket at first,” the Dubbo West man told an official from The Lott on Tuesday morning. “I had everyone looking for it.

“As it turns out, it was in my wallet the entire time!”

A Lott ticket in the glovebox.
The Dubbo West man says he had everyone looking for his ticket after realising he'd won. Source: The Lott

What to do if you’ve lost the winning ticket

But The Lott says there is no need to stress if you’ve misplaced a winning ticket, even if you haven’t registered it to a player card.

“We can still work to unite you with your prize but it's a little bit more of a process,” spokesperson Matt Hart told Yahoo News Australia.

“We actually have something called a lost and damaged ticket form and that is where people have to list the things they know about the winning ticket. When they purchased it, how did they pay, how many games on the ticket, that type of thing, and then we can see if we can match it to the winning ticket.”

But ultimately he said it’s “much easier” to unite you with your prize if you hold on to your ticket.

“Think of your ticket as being a potentially very valuable piece of paper so hold on to it,” Mr Hart said.

A Lott ticket on grass with a golf club and balls.
The lotto winner is now planning to take his partner on a trip with his $1 million winnings. Source: The Lott

Lotto winner planning trip with partner

With his ticket and prize safely secured, the Dubbo West man can breathe once again.

“I’ve been playing for several years and the most I’ve won is $1000!” he said. “I will share this win with my children and go on a trip with my partner.”

The winning entry was purchased at Dubbo West Post Office which, until draw 4264, had never sold a division one winning entry before.

“We thought the news might’ve been a hoax email,” owner Lea Callan said. “Our team and our customers are so excited.”

Two of the other winning tickets were also bought in WA, with the fourth coming from Western Australia.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.