By MAX ALDRED FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Published: 02:19 BST, 10 June 2025 | Updated: 02:59 BST, 10 June 2025

A Victorian man has come forward to claim his $2.1million lottery prize almost six months after he found the winning ticket in a Christmas card from his wife. 

The Lott officials had been looking for the ticket holder since the $30million mega draw was made on January 4.

The man from Wonthaggi, in the South Gippsland region, was one of the 14 Division One winners.

He explained to officials his ticket went unchecked for ‘months’ as ‘life got in the way’. 

‘My wife always buys a lottery ticket for everyone in the family for Christmas,’ he said. 

‘We’d been away on holiday for a month over summer, and with everything else going on when we got back, I completely forgot about the ticket.

‘I only thought the other day that I should check the ticket. I couldn’t believe it.’

Winning lottery tickets have a 12-month expiry in Victoria. Most Division One tickets are checked within two weeks of the draw, according to The Lott. 

A Victorian lottery winner forgot to check a ticket gifted to him by his wife for six months (stock image)

A Victorian lottery winner forgot to check a ticket gifted to him by his wife for six months (stock image)

The winner said he would share the prize with his family. 

‘Things like this never happen to us,’ he said. 

‘We’re going to divide it within the family, share the prize around and help others,’ he said. 

‘It will help many people.’

The ticket was purchased at Lucky lotto in Wonthaggi Plaza. 

The store owners, Gio and Robyn, said they were excited to have sold the ticket. 

‘We were so excited to have sold a division one winning entry and make someone’s dreams come true. Even better to hear the winner has now discovered their multi-million-dollar prize,’ Gio said.  

‘Before this division one winning entry, we hadn’t sold a division one winning entry since 31 January 2022. This is our 5th division one prize sold over an 11-year period.’

The winning numbers in TattsLotto draw 4535 on 4 January 2025 were 33, 19, 8, 23, 10 and 31, while the supplementary numbers were 42 and 13.

Across Australia, there were 14 Division One winning entries in the draw; six each in Victoria and NSW, and two in Queensland. 

The Lott’s division one winning tally has now reached 192 so far in 2025, including 76 won by Tatts customers. 

:
Unusual place lucky Aussie found $2.1million Lotto ticket as he comes forward six months after the draw was called six

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