The winner of the largest jackpot in Canadian history remains a mystery nearly two weeks after the winning numbers of a $64-million lottery were drawn.

While some can't imagine shelving that winning ticket for even a minute, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation says it's not that unusual for lottery winners to hold off on collecting their prize money.

"A lot of (lottery winners) want to get their ducks in order," Tony Bitonti, OLG spokesperson, told CTV's Canada AM on Thursday. "They want to talk to financial advisers, they want to talk to lawyers and to family members, because it is $64 million -- it's life-changing."

A single winning Lotto 6/49 ticket was sold in Mississauga, Ont. ahead of the draw on Sat. Oct. 17.

Bitonti said as of Thursday, the ticket has not been validated at an OLG retail location – which is the first step lottery-winners must take to claim their prize.

If the ticket is a winner, the lottery terminal will light up.

"Whether it’s free play, or $64 million the bells and whistles will go off," Bitonti said.

If the prize is more than $5,000, the lottery terminal will shut down and the retailer will receive a call from the OLG support centre within 30 seconds to one minute later. Support centre staff will then collect some basic information from the winner and give them instruction on how to claim their prize.

"That validation really ties you to the ticket," Bitonti said. "In case (the ticket) ever gets lost or something happens to it…at least there is that connection."

For any prize more than $250,000, the winner must travel to the OLG prize centre in downtown Toronto to claim their winnings.

"If everything goes well, a couple of hours later you could be walking out of there with up to $64 million," Bitonti added.

Generally, lottery winnings are not taxable for Canadian tax purposes.

All OLG tickets generated by a lottery terminal expire 12 months after the draw date on the ticket.

On its website, the OLG lists winning tickets of $5,000 or more that have gone unclaimed for eight weeks or more. The list includes an unclaimed $1 million Lotto 6/49 ticket purchased in Markham, Ont. for a draw that took place more than a year ago.

In March, a winning $50-million Lotto Max ticket sold in British Columbia was presented to lottery officials just five days before the one-year deadline to claim the prize was set to expire.

Back in 2004, a Brantford, Ont. man waited until 12 days before his winning ticket expired to claim his $30-million prize. The man's ex-wife later sued him for half of the winnings and the two eventually settled out of court.