$6.8m lotto ticket just sat in wallet for eight days

Winner says he only decided to check his ticket after hearing "the buzz around town". File photo

The winner of the $6.8 million Powerball prize has come forward - after forgetting he had a ticket in the draw.

The man's ticket was sitting in his wallet for eight days before he checked it after hearing "the buzz around town", according to a statement from Lotto.

The winning ticket was sold at Take Note in Ohakune for the draw on January 30.

The missing millionaire was the talk of the town as locals check their tickets and imagine what they would do if they were the lucky winner.

"The winning ticket had been sitting forgotten in the winner's wallet for the past eight days, while the winner went about their regular business - completely unaware they were literally sitting on a fortune," Lotto said.

The winner and his wife, who want to remain anonymous, are still deciding what to do with their winnings.

"The winners were quite shell-shocked when they realised just how much they'd won," said Lotto's general manager, corporate communications, Emilia Mazur.

"They are slowly coming to terms with the fact that they are now millionaires - a few times over - and are enjoying some exciting conversations about all the things they can do with their winnings."

Last year was a record breaking year for Powerball players with 13 players winning the jackpot throughout the year, the most in a year since the game began.

This year is shaping up to just as lucky, with two big prizes of more than $6 million won in January.
The Powerball jackpot for tomorrow's draw is $6 million.