Where is Silverdale's missing millionaire? $7.2 million Lotto prize is yet to be claimed

A $7.2 million Lotto prize is yet to be claimed after the winning numbers were drawn last Wednesday.

The owner of the winning ticket, purchased at Pak'nSave Silverdale, north of Auckland, has yet to claim their prize despite five days having passed.

Lotto NZ said it was time to clear out those wallets, check the glovebox and clean out the desk draw to see if you are the lucky winner.

While most winning Lotto tickets are found tucked in wallets, they've also been known to show up in weird and wonderful places, including underwear drawers, backpacks, in the desk at work, hidden in the car, and even tucked inside phone cases.

Just last year a Warkworth man discovered he was $19.1 million better off after checking a Powerball ticket he had stashed in his car.

"It was a busy weekend, so I didn't have a clue that someone in Warkworth had won a big prize," he said at the time.

The winner popped into his local supermarket to pick up his some bits and pieces for dinner when he learned just how much the ticket lurking in his car for almost a week was worth.

"If I had known, I probably wouldn't have driven around all weekend with a very valuable ticket under my seat," he laughed.

Some players have also popped their Lotto tickets somewhere so "safe" that they forgot where they had hidden them.

In April 2013, a Christchurch man found a Lotto ticket worth $666,666 in his "odds and ends" drawer.

"I was looking for some sticky tape to wrap my Dad's birthday present when I discovered a handful of old Lotto tickets.

"When I checked them online, I discovered that I was the missing Lotto First Division winner that everyone was talking about!" the winner said.

Lotto NZ's head of corporate communications Kirsten Robinson said while the majority of Powerball winners are quick to claim their winnings, it's possible the latest multi-millionaire has no idea they've hit the jackpot.

"That's why we're encouraging anyone who bought their ticket from Pak'nSave Silverdale recently to do a bit of spring clean — clear those wallets, clean out your kitchen drawers and rummage through the glovebox.

"You never know, that little yellow piece of paper tucked away somewhere special, could be worth $7.2 million."

The winner has 12 months from the date of the draw in which to claim their prize.