Toronto, ON – Mark Hanley of Newmarket was excited to tell his wife and adult children that he’d hit the LOTTO MAX jackpot and was about to become Ontario’s newest multi-millionaire. Mark won the $65 million jackpot prize from the March 28, 2025 LOTTO MAX draw. But his two attempts to break the remarkable news – first to his wife and then to his children – didn’t quite land the way he’d hoped. Still, the experience has become a hilarious tale that will live on in the family archives!

Mark was up early, enjoying his breakfast, when he decided to check his LOTTO MAX ticket completely unaware of the life-changing surprise that awaited him. He likes to check the winning lottery numbers one by one on OLG.ca. After matching three numbers, Mark began to pay closer attention to what he was doing. Then came four…five…and six. Finally, he matched all seven numbers, but didn’t grasp exactly what this meant. “I’ve been playing the lottery for 30 years, and when I counted all seven numbers, I was disappointed that I didn’t match the bonus number,” Mark recounted during his OLG Winner Celebration in Toronto. “Then I realized there are only seven numbers with LOTTO MAX, and I got the BIG ONE! When I saw there was only one winner and the jackpot was $65 million, I started jumping for joy, saying, ‘Touchdown!’”

Mark’s wife was still sleeping at the time, and he silently debated, “Is this important enough to wake up my wife, who loves her sleep? So, I decided to share the news by saying, ‘Honey, do you want to kiss a millionaire?’ Funny enough, she sternly said, ‘No,’ and tried to go back to sleep.” Mark convinced his wife to get out of bed and meet him downstairs so he could show her his winning ticket. “She looked at the ticket and thought, ‘So what...?’ So, I told her to go take a shower to fully wake up. When she came back, the reality of this win started to settle in, and she began crying tears of joy.”

The retired business software analyst and his wife decided to tell their grown children the astonishing news face to face. “We called to make sure they were home, and I said to my wife, ‘Don’t tell them anything – just say we’re coming over.’ When they answered the phone and my wife started to talk, she began crying again. She said, ‘We’re coming to see you… I can’t tell you why… but everything’s alright.’” Mark started laughing and said, “Oh good, now they think someone died!”

As the couple pulled up to the house to visit their children, Mark’s wife turned to him with an important request. “She asked me if I could hold her coffee so her hands would be free to give them a hug and then she started to cry again,” Mark smiled. Despite the initial tears from Mark’s wife, their children were overcome with emotion when they were finally told the great news. “I felt so good to tell them, and it’s a dream come true to now be able to provide for them in so many incredible ways!”

Mark also plans to surprise some immediate family members with a portion of his windfall. “They’re probably not going to believe it at first because you don’t expect someone to suddenly come out of the blue and give you a gift like this.”

When asked what’s on his bucket list, Mark was quick to answer, “I want to travel the world for its food! I want to go to Italy, and especially France. I love French bread, French wine, and… oh my, French cheese!”  He also mentioned another aspiration that may be out of reach, despite having $65 million in his bank account. “I want to buy a castle, but wife won’t let me,” he laughed.

Mark concedes it will take some time before the reality of hitting the LOTTO MAX jackpot truly sinks in. “The LOTTO MAX commercials say, ‘Dream Bigger,’ but I still haven’t quite gotten that in my head. I always dreamt of winning a couple of million, but this amount is just baffling! I just feel so grateful and blessed that this win came my way.”

Mark purchased his winning LOTTO MAX ticket at New Town Variety on Yonge Street in Newmarket.

LOTTO MAX players in Ontario have won over $9 billion since 2009, including 115 jackpot wins and 937 MAXMILLIONS prizes, right across the province. LOTTO MAX is $5 per play and draws take place on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Important to know – 100 per cent of OLG’s profits are invested in Ontario, so when you play LOTTO MAX, you are playing for Ontario.

OLG supports safe play and wants to keep the fun in the game. That’s why OLG is proud to be a leader in promoting responsible gambling with our globally recognized PlaySmart program.

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OLG is a crown agency that contributes to a better Ontario by delivering great entertainment experiences for our customers. Acting in a socially responsible way, OLG conducts and manages land-based gaming facilities; the sale of province-wide lottery games; Internet gaming; and the delivery of bingo and other electronic gaming products at Charitable Gaming Centres. OLG is also helping support the horse racing industry in Ontario. Since 1975, OLG has generated approximately $62 billion to the people and Province of Ontario to support key government priorities like health care; the treatment and prevention of problem gambling; and support for amateur athletes. Each year profits from OLG's operations also support host communities, Ontario First Nations, lottery retailers and local charities across the province.

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