He had won $1 million [Canadian] but neither believed nor knew about it. It happened Ceylon – a small village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

A media report says Bradley Nyhus had bought a lottery ticket [Set For Life scratch-off ticket] in late January from Radville – a town – but he realised later that it had already been scratched off. So he just ignored and forgot about it.

"It was laying on my table for three or four weeks, possibly more. I noticed it sitting there when I was on my way to an appointment and to get gas and a car wash."

According to Nyhus, he took the ticket and several others he had previously scratched off to scan at a ticket checker, only to find out he had won the top prize of $744.81 a week for 25 years, which he took as a lump sum option of $744,845.

"I'll use it to pay off the student loans for my three daughters. Beyond that, maybe invest the rest and look at retiring," Nyhus said.