Lotto winner finally comes forward after finding $40 million ticket in pocket

While most of us would love to win the lottery, we're also realists and accept that the odds aren't exactly in our favour.

So it makes sense that someone could hit the jackpot and remain oblivious for some time because they didn't check their ticket.

This is exactly what happened to an Australian man, from Perth, who won a staggering AU $40 million (US $26m/£22m) on the Powerball lottery and spent a whole week completely oblivious.

In fact, the life-changing ticket stayed in his pocket the whole time, as he'd forgotten that he even bought a ticket to enter the draw.

"I was in complete disbelief and shock when the retailer explained I had the winning ticket," the unnamed grandfather from Swan Valley said.

He didn't go crazy celebrating the moment his win from Springs News in Bennett Springs - which he bagged an hour before the draw closed - was uncovered.

Instead, he simply celebrated by having fish and chips with his family.

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

The grandfather revealed that as well as looking after his nearest and dearest, he is also planning to use some of the money to fly business class around the world.

"This has changed our lives," he admitted.

Lbeddoe/Alamy Stock Photo

Milan Vuletich, the shop owner, said he couldn't believe it when he discovered that he'd sold the winning ticket.

"We've had a decent run in selling $1 million Division One prizes a few years back, but this $40 million news is something special," he said.

Confirmation of the man's win was announced today (10 March) after he bought the ticket just over a week ago on 2 March.

Gabriel Petrescu / Alamy

This is not the first time that a lottery winner has gone about their lives completely oblivious to having won.

As reported by the MailOnline, there's actually a whopping AU $22.3 million (US $14.8m/£12.4m) worth of unclaimed lottery winnings in Australia.

Of this money, AU $9.5 million (US $6.3m/£5.2m) belongs to oblivious players in New South Wales, while AU $5.5 million (US $3.6m/£3m) has gone unclaimed in Queensland across nine windfalls.

The lottery is therefore encouraging players to check their old tickets as there's a genuine chance that they could have won and not realised.

So if you ever find an old lottery ticket in your jacket pocket, you might want to check it immediately - after all, a slim chance of winning is still a chance.