From Etobicoke to the Orient Express: $65M Lotto winner ready to ride the rails

An Etobicoke man and lover of trains says he plans to travel the world after being unveiled as the $65 million jackpot winner through OLG Lotto Max.

For years, Mohit Sharma says he dreamed of stepping aboard the world’s most luxurious trains, traversing continents in style and comfort. He told the OLG that his lottery journey began in 2020, during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It became a bit of a weekly ritual,” Sharma said. “Something to look forward to each week when things felt uncertain.”

Sticking to a set budget, Sharma said he regularly purchased Lotto Max and Lotto 6/49 tickets, always including Encore and always choosing Quick Pick numbers, randomly generated by the lottery terminal.

That simple decision paid off in a monumental way when the Quick Pick ticket he purchased for the Oct. 15, 2024, draw turned out to be the sole winner of the $65 million grand prize.

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

Etobicoke man and noted train admirer

Sharma, who likes to check his tickets soon after the draw, said the day he found out he’d won is one he’ll never forget.

“I heard on the news that the winning ticket was sold in Etobicoke,” he said.

“I had a couple of tickets in a drawer, so I set them on the table and started scanning them using the OLG app. The first ticket I scanned was the winner! I couldn’t believe it — 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!'”

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Sharma says he was in the middle of cooking when he made the discovery.

“I don’t know how I had the clarity to turn off the stove,” he said, laughing. “There could’ve been a fire in my kitchen!”

He was eager to share the news with his family, but they were travelling at the time. Not wanting to interrupt their trips or cause any alarm, he decided to wait until everyone was back home.

“I wanted to tell them in person.”

When the moment finally arrived, Sharma gathered his family for the big reveal.

“To say they were shocked is an understatement,” he 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.”

Sharma says he’s now ready to fulfill a lifelong dream: traversing the globe by train.

“The world’s most iconic railways have always fascinated me,” he said. “And now, I’m going to see them all.

“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 continued.

“I also want to travel on the Indian Pacific, which goes from Sydney to Perth, Australia. The famous Orient Express is another on 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.”

Mohit purchased his winning ticket at Lakeshore Mini Mart on Lakeshore Boulevard West in Etobicoke.