Australian couple's $77,070 lottery ticket spent 8 months locked in safe

April 22 (UPI) -- An Australian couple came forward to claim a $77,070 lottery prize after their winning ticket spent eight months secreted away in a locked safe.

The Maclean, New South Wales, couple told The Lott officials they knew their Lucky Lotteries Super Jackpot ticket from the Maclean Newsagency was a $77,070 winner after the Aug. 10, 2020, drawing, but they didn't want to cash it in right away.

"We checked it straight after the draw and we couldn't believe it! I remember thinking 'oh yeah, baby!'" the man told officials. "We couldn't stop shaking!"

The ticket was unregistered, so lottery officials had no way to identify the winners until they came forward.

"We've kept it in a safe ever since that day! We planned to just let the news sink in before we claimed the prize," the man said. "For us, it's like a million dollars, so we wanted to be sensible with our prize and make sure we used it wisely."

The couple told officials they spent months making careful plans for their winnings.

"We have a few bills we want to pay first," the woman said. "Then we both want to help our families and there are a few things the kids need. The rest we want to keep in the bank for a rainy day.

"All of our money stress has completely disappeared, which is amazing for us."