Powerball AU$40m jackpot winner oblivious about fortune for two weeks

• Powerball drawing 1571 produced a single division one winning entry, entitled to a life-changing AU$40m jackpot
• The entry wasn’t registered with The Lott account which is why the lottery had to wait for the winner go come forward
• After watching a TV news report about an unclaimed jackpot, a Woden man was shocked to realize that he kept the winning ticket in his wallet for two weeks

A lucky man scored a once-in-a-lifetime prize but was completely unaware of it for nearly two weeks.

That’s the story of a Canberra, Australia man, who emerged as the winner of the top prize from a recent Powerball drawing.

Powerball ticket brings AU$40m jackpot

The fortunate player decided to try his luck and purchased his Powerball ticket from Thistle Kiosk, Shop4A, Westfield Woden, 1 Keltie Street in Woden.

The player entered the Powerball drawing 1571 on Thursday, June 25, 2026.

Interestingly, he emerged as the winner of a single division one entry on that particular drawing.

As a result, the winner is entitled to a life-changing AU$40m ($27.8m) jackpot.

The same lottery outlet that sold the Woden man the division one winning entry had already sold several other jackpot-winning tickets.

The shop owner, Rudy Lu, interviewed by The Lott, admitted that in the last 20 years, the outlet has sold seven division one winning tickets.

Those include two Powerball division one wins and a Set for Life top prize, among others.

"When I saw the news there was an unregistered winner in Canberra, I had a feeling it was us that sold it," Lu said.

"I’m still in shock! I can’t believe it"

The incredibly lucky Powerball player was completely unaware that he had become ACT’s newest multi-millionaire.

It has taken approximately two weeks before the realized he won big and that was thanks to a news report that informed of an unclaimed AU$40m jackpot.

Considering that the division one winning entry wasn’t registered to an account with The Lott, the operator couldn’t contact the player to give him the good news.

But after watching a TV report, the player thought that he should check his ticket and was shocked to realize that he won a once-in-a-lifetime prize.

"I’m still in shock! I can’t believe it. I had no idea until a couple of days ago," the winner said in an interview for an official with The Lott.

"I had completely forgot about my ticket until I saw on the news that they were looking for a winner with an unregistered ticket. I thought, ‘Maybe it’s me!’," he continued.

The Woden man had neatly kept his Powerball ticket in his wallet, unaware that he was walking around with a life-changing AU$40m prize.

Admitting that he is still in disbelief, the player revealed that he plans to continue working.

"It’ll more be there for future children and grandchildren," the fortunate man added and thanked the lottery once again.

Image credit: Pixabay.com