Even the best of us sometimes get distracted. However, an Australian man took it a step further by holding a $40 million (around USD 26.46 million) Powerball ticket for a week before redeeming it.

As reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, the winner is a “grandfather” from Swan Valley. The lottery player purchased the Slikpik 18 ticket from Springs News in Bennett Springs around an hour before the draw closed.

Unfortunately, the player failed to check whether he won later for an entire week, instead keeping the ticket in his pocket. Luckily, he didn’t lose or damage the ticket and eventually took it to the store where he bought it.

The man was shocked to learn that he is the lottery winner everyone was looking for.

Winning the Lottery Changed the Man’s Life

Although the Perth man has preferred to remain anonymous for now, he spoke about how he felt to be a winner. According to his own words, the grandfather was in “complete disbelief and shock” when he learned that he had won 40 million Australian dollars.

The lottery winner added that he and his family celebrated the monumental victory with a modest but memorable feast of fish and chips. He noted that winning the lottery has forever changed his family’s lives for the better.

As for what the winner will do with the money, he said that he will share the winnings with his loved ones and will make sure that his grandkids get everything they need.

We’re a tight family and will share the win together, making sure our kids and grandkids are looked after.

A statement by the lottery winner

The lottery winner added that from now on he will be always booking business class tickets when traveling around the world.

The Sydney Morning Herald also reported that Milan Vuletich, who owns Spring News where the winner bought the ticket, was beyond surprised to learn that he had sold a ticket for $40 million. Vuletich noted that his store had sold $1 million Division One tickets a few years ago but he never expected to actually sell a ticket for a prize this big.

The Perth lottery winner might have been a little bit distracted to check his ticket, but elsewhere, a lottery winner almost threw away a $1 million ticket. This happened to a 30-year-old woman from Clinton County, Michigan, who threw away her winning ticket without checking it properly. Luckily, she was wise enough to double-check the ticket the next morning before she threw the garbage.