The person who won a €30 million jackpot in the Dutch national lottery Staatsloterij on December 31 has surfaced after a two-week search.

The man, who bought the winning ticket in Woensdrecht, waited on purpose before contacting the lottery organisers, Staatsloterij winners’ coach Bjorn Rosner told the AD.

Far from being on holiday or having put the ticket in the washing machine, the man had simply taken time to “let things sink in”, Rosner said.

“He said he didn’t check the result until later in the new year and then waited a bit before arranging a meeting. We are very happy to pay out this wonderful prize to the winner at last,” said Rosner who provides advice and coaching to cope with sudden wealth so “winners can enjoy their money for as long as possible”.

Last year the lottery initiated a search for almost half a million prizes that hadn’t been claimed and were about to become invalid. Small airplanes with banners saying “478,885 tickets are looking for a winner!” were flown over the country in an effort to locate the oblivious winners of a total of €3.95 million.