A spontaneous stop at the local newsagency has left a Miami woman stunned and breathless after she scratched her way to the biggest Instant Scratch-Its prize ever, worth a staggering $1.5 million.
The Gold Coast resident’s winning $30 Mega Cash Instant Scratch-Its ticket was purchased at Harbour Town News & Gifts, Shop 2A, Harbourtown Shopping Centre, 147-189 Brisbane Road, Biggera Waters.
The Sunshine State player takes home the biggest ever Instant Scratch-Its top prize, totalling $1.5 million.
Speaking to an official from The Lott, the overwhelmed woman shared she was eager to give back to her local community and explore more of Australia.
“It’s unbelievable! It’s a huge amount of money!” she exclaimed.
“I’m still feeling overwhelmed by it all.
“It’s funny because I don’t usually buy Instant Scratch-Its tickets. I probably buy a handful of tickets three or four times a year, so it was really a whim decision.
“When I was at the newsagency the other week, I noticed the Mega Cash ticket, and I thought I’d try my luck.
“When I scratched the winning ticket, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was honestly a mix of unsure and dumbfounded.
“It only started to feel real once we went into the Brisbane office and claimed our prize. It’s an experience we’ll never forget.”
With a phenomenal $1.5 million heading her way, the winning woman shared giving back was her top priority.
“We’re just very normal people. We don’t want this prize to change us,” she explained.
“We want to share the prize with family and take a few holidays. We’ve always wanted to explore more of Australia, and now we can.
“We also have a select few charities that are close to our hearts, including Surf Life Saving Queensland, RSL Queensland and children’s cancer charities. We’ll able to support them more than ever.
“Above everything, we’re feeling eternally grateful. Thank you so much!”
Harbour Town News & Gifts store manager Scott Day shared he was over the moon to discover his outlet had sold a top prize-winning ticket worth a life-changing $1.5 million.
“I was so excited when I found out we’d sold the big $1.5 million Instant Scratch-Its ticket! I couldn’t stop screaming, ‘Oh my god!’ around the store,” he said.
“We’ve been telling all our customers the good news and letting them know that dreams really can come true.
“I’ve been the store manager here for over 17 years, and we’ve been lucky to sell several major prize-winning entries. It’s always an honour for us to sell tickets to the local community and make dreams come true.
“Congratulations to our winner. We couldn’t dream of it going to a more wonderful and deserving lady. Thank you for choosing to support our store!”
In FY25, there were 151 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across The Lott’s jurisdictions who collectively took home more than $12.5 million in top prizes.
During this same time, Instant Scratch-Its players enjoyed more than 25.3 million wins across all prize tiers worth more than $253 million. This equates to almost half a million winners and more than $4.8 million won on Instant Scratch-Its each week.
Every month, Instant Scratch-Its’ 2nd Chance Draw gives you another chance to turn your eligible non-winning Instant Scratch-Its into a winner. Visit thelott.com to enter this month’s 2nd Chance Draw.
The official home of Australia’s lotteries, The Lott operates and markets Australia’s leading lottery games customers know and love creating everyday winners, winning every day.
In FY25, more than 123.8 million winners took home more than $4.1 billion in prize money from their favourite games at The Lott, including Saturday Gold Lotto, Weekday Windfall, Powerball, Oz Lotto, Set for Life, Lucky Lotteries, Keno (SA), Super 66, Lotto Strike and Instant Scratch-Its.
Last financial year, Australia’s official lotteries contributed more than $1.66 billion via state lottery taxes and donations to help community initiatives, such as hospitals, health research, disaster relief and education. As part of its commitment to supporting the community, The Lott proudly supports Play For Purpose, the not-for-profit charity raffle that gives Australians the chance to win while helping more than 500 causes across the country.