A Toronto man has plans to ride the rails around the world after claiming his $65 million lottery win, according to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG).

Mohit Sharma, who lives in Etobicoke, won the $65 million Lotto Max jackpot from the draw on Oct. 15, 2024, becoming the second big lottery winner announced in Canada this week.

On Tuesday, it was announced that a group of auto workers from Quebec will also be sharing a $20 million prize.

Sharma told OLG he started playing the lottery during the COVID-19 pandemic as a hobby during the lockdowns. Sharma would always use the Quick Pick option when buying his tickets, which is why he found the win to be a little startling.

“I don’t pick the numbers, so, knowing that a random number that the lottery computer picked for me the winner — and my name was on that ticket — is just unbelievable,” he said.

Sharma said that he was at home cooking dinner when he found out the winner of the grand prize was from his neck of the woods.

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“I heard on the news that the winning ticket was sold in Etobicoke. I had a couple of tickets in a drawer, so I set up the tickets on the table and started scanning them using the OLG app. The first ticket I scanned was the winner,” he said.

“I couldn’t believe it and my heart started pounding. My phone screen lit up as the words ‘Big Winner’ flashed across the screen I thought to myself, ‘I guess that person I heard about on the news was me.’”

After Sharma went for a walk to settle his nerves, he had to decide how he was going to share the news with his family, who were travelling at the time. When he was finally able to gather them together to spill the beans, Sharma said it was a moment to remember.

“To say they were shocked is an understatement,” Sharma recalled. “I had to pinch a couple of them to prove it was real. It was an emotional moment with lots of trembling hands and elevated heart rates all around.”

They then decided it was a champagne-worthy celebration but soon realized they did not have a matching set of glasses for the bubbly.

“It was later in the evening when I shared the news with them,” Sharma explained. “When we decided we needed proper champagne glasses to toast the great news, the only place still open was Walmart. So, we ran over to buy champagne glasses and raised a glass to my good fortune. We finished the bottle together that night.”

The consultant said he plans to manage the wealth wisely in an effort to take care of his immediate family as well as give to charity.

“The best part of winning the lottery is that me and my family are financially free,” Sharma said. “We don’t have to plan or save for holidays or vacations. If I want to travel now, I can. If I want to buy something, I can.”

He is also pondering the idea of going back to school and also going on a special trip

“I have dreamt of travelling on these luxurious and exotic trains. I want to go to Japan to experience one of the world’s fastest trains The Shinkansen,” he said.

“I also want to travel on the Indian Pacific that goes from Sydney to Perth, Australia. The famous Orient Express is another on the top of my list, too. I’m excited to see more of Canada when I hop on The Canadian, from Toronto to Vancouver. In addition, I want to ride The Caledonia Sleeper, which crisscrosses the United Kingdom. This is what will excite me the most.”

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