Washington, Sep 14 (IANS): A man in the US state of Colorado won a lottery of more than $5 million and the first things that he bought with the money were a watermelon and flowers for his wife.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Colorado Lottery said that Waldemar Tasch, a 77-year-old from Montrose, won the $5,067,041 Colorado Lotto+ jackpot.

Tasch, who is retired, was on a backpacking trip in the Holy Cross Wilderness with his golden retriever, Augie, when his winning numbers were chosen for the September 6 draw.

When he returned from his trip, he checked his ticket on the website and figured “it must be a mistake", the statement said.

Tasch's "first move was to buy himself a watermelon--and his wife flowers", it added.

"Colorado is the most beautiful place in the world," he said, adding that he plays Colorado Lotto+ every month and “always” plays his own lucky numbers, using a secret formula to choose.

According to Tasch, his wife has some upcoming surgeries and he is happy to be able to now be able to provide some much needed help.

He also plans to give back with his winnings.

"I'm going to give to some charities and really think about what it is I was meant to do with this," he said.