Surgery patient wins $9m in get-well lottery ticket from dad

A US man recovering from surgery has won US$7 million (A$9 million) from a scratch-off lottery ticket tucked into a get-well card.

Joseph Amorese, a 46-year-old phone company employee from Pennsylvania, received the card from his father.

"I took my glasses off, I'm looking at it, I was pretty shocked to say the least," Mr Amorese told WCBS.

"I had surgery, so I didn't jump up and down, but in my mind I was jumping up and down."

He will collect a lump sum of A$5.85 million after taxes.

Mr Amorese said he and his wife Jodi, a social worker whom he married 10 months ago, plan to use some of the money for a second honeymoon.

"My life, I don't expect it to change a whole lot," he said.

"I'm still going to go to work every day. My wife's gonna go to work, and we're going to invest the money and enjoy life."