Hobart grandmother's million-dollar horizon

When the phone rang on Friday afternoon, Elaine had just put the kettle on. "I was half-expecting another sofa company," the 68-year-old laughs. "I'd been dodging them for weeks."

Instead, it was our concierge team calling to let her know her ticket in Draw #141 had taken home the full one-million-dollar Horizon prize. It took three rounds of confirmation before Elaine believed it — "I kept asking if they were going to ask me for my bank details up front. They kept saying they weren't. Eventually I just cried."

A life of quiet saving

Elaine spent 38 years as a paediatric nurse at the Royal Hobart Hospital before retiring in 2021. She's been buying Groupire Lottery tickets since her daughter gave her a Horizon Book as a Christmas gift two years ago. "It was always more about the Foundation than the prize," she says. "I liked that it was Australian, I liked that real money went to real programs, and I liked that I could afford it on the pension."

What happens next

Elaine has two plans. The first is a trip up the east coast with every one of her grandkids — "from Launceston to Cairns, no rush, stopping everywhere worth stopping." The second is a donation back to the Royal Hobart's paediatric ward, where she worked for nearly four decades.

"That ward gave me everything," she says. "If I can put a few more toys in the playroom and make one family's bad week a little easier, that's what this money is for."

The ticket that did it

Elaine purchased a Value Book for Draw #141 — seven tickets into the main draw and a bonus entry into the Weekly Bonus round. The winning number was drawn live at 9:04 pm AEST on Friday 12 April 2026, under the supervision of our independent scrutineer.

"Buy a ticket, put the kettle on, don't expect anything," Elaine says when asked what advice she has. "And if someone calls you on a Friday afternoon — pick up the phone."

Draw #142 — The Million Horizon Draw — is open now. Tickets close at 9:00 pm AEST on Friday 30 May 2026.
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