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The Mega Millions winners in Maryland came forward but chose to remain anonymous. After taxes, they will each take home just under $35 million.
Maryland Lottery officials announced Tuesday that the record-breaking Mega Millions winning ticket purchased at a 7-Eleven in the Baltimore area was actually purchased by three people, all of whom have chosen to remain anonymous.
The three friends -- a woman in her 20s, a woman in her 50s and a man in his 40s -- work in Maryland’s public education system. One of the winners is an elementary school teacher, one works in special education and the third is an administrative assistant, NBC News reported, but they all work other jobs as well.
The three will share the $218.6 million portion of the record-breaking $656 million jackpot from March 30.
Lottery officials say the three winners, who referred to themselves as "The Three Amigos," each contributed $20 to purchase 60 tickets at three different locations.
The night of the drawing, the woman who purchased the tickets laid them all out on her floor, watching the winning numbers come in. After collecting herself from a state of disbelief at realizing she'd won, she called her two friends right away.
According to the Maryland Lottery, the winners chose the cash option of $158 million. After taxes, each will take home just under $35 million each.
“We are thrilled that three such deserving Marylanders have won this money,” said Maryland Lottery Director Stephen Martino. “It’s gratifying to know that these individuals, who have given so much to the public through the years, have had this wonderful luck. It couldn’t have happened to nicer people.”
In their immediate future, one plans to backpack through Europe, another plans to finance his daughter's education, and third will travel to Italy. All three plan to invest and buy homes, NBC Washington reported, and they have already sought the counsel of a financial adviser.
All three have been working multiple jobs, a rep for the Maryland lottery said, according to NBC Washington.
Read about 'The Three Amigos' on NBCWashington.com
The trio plans to return to work this week, citing "a strong commitment to their students," the lottery official said.
The revelation of "The Three Amigos" as the winners followed more than a week of suspense, during which rumors swirled and another Baltimore-area woman had earlier claimed to be the winner, but later said she lost the ticket. Mirlande Wilson, a single mother of seven, said she had been tasked with guarding Mega Millions tickets from a work pool. After the Mega Millions numbers were announced, Wilson said she had the winning ticket but that she wouldn’t share the spoils – she said she had purchased the winning ticket separately. She held a news briefing last week, flanked by a lawyer, but then later said she had lost the ticket.
The two other winning tickets in the March 30 drawing were sold in Kansas and Illinois. The Kansas winner chose to remain anonymous; the winner in Illinois has not yet come forward.
NBC News contributed to this report.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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We were all hoodwinked on this story from the start-lol
Went to a nice banquet of baloney.
Were we really all that tricked, though? As soon as the other woman said she "lost" her ticket, we all knew she was lying.
I mean if you had a lottery ticket worth that much, would you lose it? Let alone if it was worth millions, but worth hundreds? I certainly know I wouldn't lose it!
So much for the McMillionaire...
Don't you mean McMoron.
"McMillionaire"..."McMoron"...Giggles!
I knew she was lying the first time she spoke. She had to pause, look up, and think about the question, "How does it feel to win?" and then she answered lamely, "It feels alright..." There were liar's tells all over her distasteful face.
As for the educators, I am thrilled!! (The next best thing to me winning!) Educated, under-paid, and truly gifted people who deserve every last dollar: YEAH for them!!!
I was at our small-town public school all morning making copies of schoolwork to free up the teacher's after-school hours. Some of them work through their breaks and still need to stay after school. The dedication and enthusiasm I witness daily are humbling and inspiring.
Congratulations to them!
Ahh so the Chiquita Banana Lady from Baltimore didnt win ? Probably sue the 3 winners with her scumbag attorney claiming they stole her ticket. Hopefully they deport her back to Haiti.
Congrats to the 3 actual winners. Finally a feel good story
Congratulations to the winners, enjoy and help out another that will really make your money go a long way.
I think we all knew the mc donalds woman was lying from the start. I would not be surprise to see her fired for bringing mcdonalds into the news light...
Okay, raise your hand if you believed this women from Mc Donalds. " I have the ticket, not gonna show you. Not bought with pooled money all mine. Now please tell me why you believed her. Even an idiot would have cashed the ticket anonymously and left town in this case.
Too bad Alabama can't climb out of the redneck stone age of bible thumpin' baptists to join in the completely legal fun with so many of the other states here in the US. We're too busy putting grandma in jail for playing frickin Bingo down here...
Damn right Mo! I had friends who believed her and yelled at me cause I didn't... idiots. I cannot believe this horrible woman lied and crushed her kids! She makes me sick... deport the lying B**** !!!
tuffigirl, if your friends were yelling at you over believing this woman, I seriously feel sorry for you.
tuffigirl-1811463, I hadn't even thought of that. For a milli-second, my heart sank for her kids, and then I wondered if they know her too well to have believed a word she said. I feel sorry for them. They lost the parent-lottery.
Teachers didn't need it. They retire early and get benefits for life as it is.
Congratulations to the winners.
Mr. Binkie, if I thought you were serious I'd call you an idiot, and take my one-day suspension. It's nap-time; go sleepy now or your reasoning skills might suffer...
I liked "McMoron" above as a good description of the woman who lied about winning- she "lost" the ticket, yeah, yeah
Geez toughgirl, I'd look for new friends. Oh well I can see why you're tough. ;)
No McNuggets for McAttentionHo. Maybe lost her McJob too. Karma is a McB****
Sucks for the haiti mother of 7. Even when she lied about winning the lottery.... she burned every single bridge and pissed off so many. I wonder how it's going to be like, heading to McDonalds everyday and everyone at work hates you. Walk of McShame...... sucks to be her right now.
That didn't turn out to be Happy Meals for her 7 kids.
Everyone knew she was lying, with her pal, the Lawyer.
Both should leave the country.
How does a "lawyer" put himself in such a stupid light--did he think he was going to get clients out of this.
Wilson, take the first ticket out to Haiti, because you are going to be bullied and mocked to no end. I feel sorry for the 7 children. They should also be removed from her hands.
What was the end purpose of this stunt---it could be the lawyer that set her up?---to do this? He should be disbarred from ever practicing again.
Congratulations to the 3 Mega Million Winners from the School. Thank goodness, the money did not wind up in her hands. She probably would have sent it to some Enemy country of ours, such as the ones who are having uprisings.
Wilson was used as a "pawn" from someone. She never had the brains to set up a scam like this one.
About 1 lie for each dollar won. The maryland lottery officials said it was a quick pick single purchase ticket. Wonder why they found it necessary to lie? Congratulations to the winners.
The nice thing about this news is that the person who bought the tickets didn't try to claim all the proceeds for herself by saying the winning ticket was one she bought separately. These are truly selfless people who deserve to have good luck. Congratulations to all three winners.
The 3 winners were probably laughing their heads off--at the stupidity of this woman, with her so called "Lawya"---
Am sure Wilson is from Mars. The depth of the brain doesn't go far in her head---
What did she have to lose---nothing but a few hours of publicity on TV---maybe one of the Reality Shows will pick her up--The lawya may have set her up?---He is a greedy one as well.
I guess I'll come out and say it... I have the winning ticket from Illinois. But I'm not going to cash it in just yet. I have hidden it somewhere in Canada.
Dogma Bites, no matter what state you live in, it's typically full of people who are thankful to be there. Just state your opinions publicly and your neighbors will be lining up to help you pack your stuff and load it into a moving van. Many will even show you the way to the nearest highway leading out of the state. (This isn't just true in Alabama. Most people are proud of their region and get very weary of the negative posters who actually are free to leave at any point.)
I wonder how the sentiment is around the McDonalds she works at.
Guess she'll have to start working at Burger King. Good luck on getting your new co-workers to buy in to that next lottery pool.
It could have been a quick pick. They pitched in 20 bucks each and bought 60 tickets. Where's the lie? You give the clerk the money and if you want quick picks they give them to you. One of the tickets was a winner. Maybe it was a single purchase quick pick. They still combined their tickets. Again, why does it have to a lie? Mighty quick to find fault.
I liked the part where the lottery official said that the winners were deserving people. I would think that anyone who craps out money too the state would be a willing and deserving individual?
I too have worked for the Baltimore County school system, I am currently 45 yrs old and disabled. Not a lot of pay but the rewards are endless! The hours are long, we spend a lot of our own money to make sure the kids have what they need but one look into those little faces who look to you for guidance or when they reach a special milestone and you get to celebrate as well, it's then that you know why you keep doing what you do! Good luck and God bless the three of you and your families as you three have I'm sure blessed so many others. Thank you for your dedication and love for our kids.
Good point.
Wilson will not be searching for work. No one will hire her---a LIAR--
She is stuck to cleaning toilets, and/or staying on our dime/WELFARE---no more work for her. We pay.
@ Marchant - Wilson's not anyone's "pawn". It doesn't take any brains at all to be a liar - especially not a really BAD liar.
So much for Mc Loser! She'll just have three more kids on top of the seven she has now and make us pay for their "ride"!
Justsara:
A Liar is a Liar---the attorney a "pawn"--in a way yes. Who hired him to represent Ms. Wilson; or did he offer his services to get a piece of the pie--the Lottery wins. Both crooked.
Brains; she has NONE---there are smart and dumb pathological liars-----white liars, or just plain liars--all of them are for the person's own gain.
Please listen to transcripts of Wilson explaining the lost ticket---if she cannot put a sentence together, then most likely she cannot read Lottery numbers, either. Maybe a psychic or psycho told her she won.
Thanks for your input.
This isn't over for McNuggethead. How much you wanna bet she and her lawyer will sue the winners, claiming they somehow stole "her" ticket? She (and her sleazy lawyer) have nothing to lose by trying. The worse they can get out of it is nothing.
Not completely true! Unsure of what further punishments await HER. However if her lawyer is found to have abetted and/or perpetrated a fraud he could be sued, charged and possibly disbarred! Let's see how quickly he runs away from her and back into deserved anonimity!
I'm glad the teachers won, they can't pay them enough! I'm also glad to hear that their are not quiting their jobs
Glad for these three educators. All the best to them and I hope they invest and spend it wisely.
CONGRADULATIONS to the educators. I love to hear of good things befalling teachers, especially because they aren't paid enough to begin with, and they still make sacrafices for their students, and we have to give them credit for practically raising our kids. BLESSINGS to all three of them. I wish them (and their families) all the very best.
Hopefully all three of them can come give you spelling and grammar lessons with their new found free time!
Just had to be a jerk didn't ya!
Uh,Oh! Here comes the spelling/grammar police!!!! Better hide your thoughts/not print them! A BIG MISTAKE like spelling "Congratulations" (instead of congradulations) and "sacrafices" (instead of sacrifices) incorrectly could get you a "spell" of a sentence! LOL! We (or MOST of us) knew what you meant. It's OK.
If it's OK, why did you correct her spelling?
Are you serious?-2183163
"Hopefully all three of them can come give you spelling and grammar lessons with their new found free time"
*********************************************
By the way, 'new found' should be one word!
You said it, Sunny. I wish them well (I don't need to wish them any better luck - LOL).
Wonder if Merlande will try to claim they 'stole' her ticket?!
Or, did she ever "really" buy the tickets with the pool money from her co-workers in the first place?
My thoughts, exactly. She probably already has a scumbag of a lawyer working on it.
Yea that was a mess... In general that's why you always scan your office pool tickets and either hand out copies or send the .pdf around. That way, you know which tickets were for the pool and which ones were bought outside the pool.
I'll be surprised if we hear another word from that loser.
Jimmy I am pretty sure crazy McDonalds lady doesn't know what a ".pdf" file is...
Redwizardooo. That cracked me up! LOL.
But she can prove it! Her's was the only one with the winning numbers!!
pdf = package da fries
hahahahaha, right now there is a Really p.o.'d lawyer in maryland along with a lying "immigrant" who may very well be deported now that she "came forward" .... meanwhile three TEACHERS who desrve it are rich. .....love a happy ending...............:)
Unfortunately, if she's deported, her kids will be split up and go into the foster care system...which will give them better care than she can probably give, but it splits them up. In working for an agency that deals in foster care, I know that we try to keep siblings together so that they have some sense of order in the chaos of their lives, but there are too many kids here to go to one home (most foster homes only have 3 or 4 beds available). This lady has now not only put herself in danger of being sent back (if she is here illegally), but she's screwed those kids over royally.
No mother of the year award for this one.
Why can't they send the 7 welfare rats back with her?
If the children are born here in the states, they are American citizens and therefore will be kept here by law. We cannot deport childrent to another country when they are citizens of this country. There's actually a big problem of that going on...expectant mothers from more deprived countries coming here to birth their children so that their children will be American citizens and therefore awarded any money that the gov't gives out to families living under the poverty level.
Do NOT blame the kids for something their mother did.
Find the father(s).
Way to blame the kids for the actions of the parent(s). Real classy.
It might be time for a mental health evaluation for the immigrant woman who originally claimed to be the winner. A balanced mind would not have done what she did.
Unbalanced? Maybe...Constipated? Definitely. She's full of sh!t.
Send the lying bitch back to where she came from. Either that or sterilize her so she doesn't pop out any more drains on society.
Good for the school employees. See what happens when you don't try to screw over others. She called her co-workers immediately.
Hey Merlande, I bet the dog ate your homework back when you were in school.
i doubt that was her attorney, maybe a person who wants to be an attorney, she has no money to pay for attorney and he does not work for free no matter how much she might have won...
I don't think Merlande had too much "schoolin".
The good news is 3 more deserving people won the lottery. The bad news is we will still be supporting that Haitian woman and her 7 kids on welfare.
It might not be nice to say but it's true.
Exactly! it just ticks me off!! She & her attorney should feel real stupid!! She needs to go back to Haiti with all 7 of her little happy meals!!
Is she here illegally? If not, you are just a jerk. NO child deserves to live in poverty in a ravaged country just because their parent is a nutjob.
@DLux.. looks like you are the jerk! you are being WAY too analytical .. settle down tiger! No one said anything about being illegal!! first of all .. I can assure you supporting 7 kids is not being done from working at Mickeys.. BUT .. all i'm saying is she can go back to wherever she came from because it doesn't sound like she appreciates living in the US .. wow .. you just blew that whole comment WAY out of proportion .. geez!
We all knew that she was lying, there were so many inconsistancies and blatant fantasies of her story "I hid it at work'.."I lost the ticket", etc etc..We ALL know she is a complete loser with poor judgement skills...in her 30s working at mcDonald's still with SEVEN kids!!!
DLux-439201 over-looked the funny in it, too.
Lol!
good for them and did you see where they are all going back to work? good people!!
Probably good Democrats.
35 million and one of them wants to backpack through Europe? Whatever floats your boat I guess.
What kills me ids the going back to work line. $34 mil I'm gone.
Not if you are a teacher. You wouldn't leave your kids like that. Now at the end of the school year, that's a different story.
Get back to flippin' those burgers, b*tch!
I doubt she's welcome back. Would you work with her if she just pulled this crap???
McDonald's is not overly selective when it comes to their hiring pool. A dead person would qualify for a job with them. They don't care if it's her or someone else plopping potatoes in hot oil.
Agreed, but under the circumstances, she would be more distruptive than productive in the workplace. After her so-called stabbing co workers in the back/lying etc, I'd be afraid there might be a hot oil accident......
More than snitches get stitches.
Did Mirlande already give up her day job????
wait until 'Revs' Al and Jessie hear about this!
If they work for public schools al and jesse are gonna ask for donations!
Saying we fought for teachers unions!
The good news is 3 deserving people had the Maryland lottery ticket. (public school teacher)
Well, thankfully, now all three will be able to afford liposuction and personal trainers. Because from the looks of them, they're all one Big Mac short of a massive coronary.
I hate it when shallow people live...
I am wondering if these three friends are regular players of the Mega Millions. I think regular players of the Mega Millions is more deserving of the winnings than players who have only played for the first time. I wish lottery official had inform the media if they were regular players or not
You should probably look up the definition of the word "lottery". Deserving has nothing to do with winning a game of chance.
This still gets confusing from what the Maryland lottery office stated a few days ago.
The winning ticket was a quick pick ticket sold by its self (not in a group of tickets) at 7:15 PM on the day of the drawing.
Now these 'Three Amigos' bought $60 worth at three locations..possible $20 each at three locations..or was it $59 at two locations and just a $1 at third location? Seems even the lottery office lies too!
They could have bought 60 separate tickets, 20 at each location.
That is possible..but the lottery office said it was just one ticket sold by its self..not 20 quick pick tickets in a row. Be odd to get a ticket come back get a ticket come back 20 times. They do come five picks on a sheet if $5 worth..why one alone each time?
LOL I just love you guys who say "nam!" NOT!!
Anyway, I buy all my tickets on singles, sure, sometimes people behind you get angry, but that's life.
With a name like 'moshuluu' I can see why too.
I believe the single ticket purchase. I'm from NYC residing in MD and this is the only place that has asked if I wanted 5 single tickets for $5 worth of lottery numbers (which easily fit on one ticket). Common sense would say to put all on one ticket like in NYC or anywhere in the north east. But that's just me! I just wish that was me and two of my amegos. LOL. And for the nutcase in Baltimore, you look like an ass who hired that ambulance chasing lawyer she knew she couldn't afford. Guess he should have asked to see the ticket before representing her.
I always ask that my tickets be brought up individually. When they are lumped all together - I notice that duplicate numbers come up often. I know I am not alone - the cashiers usually sneer at me but it's my money. So this is what may have happened.
Uh, they won. Whatever it was it worked.
What possible difference could it make if it was purchased separately or in a group of tickets?
Way back when the lottery was young, in NY state, if you got all quick picks on the same ticket, none of the numbers repeated on up to 5 quick picks. For a "true" quick pik, you got them on separate tickets. I live in Mass and whenever you ask for more than 1 quick pik, they always ask "same ticket or separate?". I am guessing the folks that are claiming "lies" do not normally buy lottery tickets but assume that they know everything about it. Even more than the state lottery offices and those that play consistently. Go figure.
Congrats to the winners! To those that think that the winners look "hefty" did it occur to you that they have disguised themselves? Even tho they wish to remain anonymous there is always a reporter skulking around!
Good for them! That lawyer retained by the "false" winner must be bumming!
The lawyer will get his fee, one Happy Meal at a time.
Wouldn't be the first time a client has lied to a lawyer and it won't be the last
Why can't it be legal in all states to remain anonymous. I don't understand why, in some states, the winners can remain anonymous, yet in other states they HAVE to come forward. Why is that???
Publicity.
My thoughts exactly! And how does a person KNOW which state requires them to come forward? I would not buy a ticket from a State that does NOT let you stay anonymous. Too many predators in this world as it is...why would you want to attract them to you?
In multi-state lotteries you have to abide by the rules of your home state, not the state in which you bought the ticket. I'm in Michigan, where forced disclosure is the law. It bites, but I'd suffer through it..!
maybe it`s to keep everything out in the open to assure that no funny business is going on?
Its up to the state how they do it..should be all the same really..its the same lottery game all took a gamble on.
Not 100% sure..but if the state has the law you can be anonymous it also has a shorter claiming period of 180 days I think..now those states that require you to face the media has a claiming period of 365 days.
Well, atleast McSkank didn't win it. Time for her to take the boat back to haiti, the same way she got here.
Congrates to the 3 amigos.
It could have just been a single ticket. You see alot of people buy 10 plays on single play tickets
The MD commission may not have been "lying" about how the ticket was purchased. At one of the local stores in my area - the clerks were printing single tickets as fast as the machine would print. If the next person in line wanted $10 worth of tickets - they were handed 10 $1 tickets.
If I was one of the McDonald's workers, I would ask the state authorities to ensure that there is no connection between the three winners and the McDonald's lady that claimed the prize first. This could be a scam by all four of them.
Doubtful: school teachers versus uneducated nobody!
Wow, she lied or was she just mentally unfit or both? Her poor attorney might be just as crazy and broke having a Tylenol moment. Oh well, back to Haiti and jobless, oh wait there may be a McDonald's there but no lotteries thank goodness.
So what happened to the Mcdonalds chick?? Where's Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to march on the statehouse and demand her arrest for creating a circus and lying about being the winner??
I wonder how many of the swindled Micky D's employees have already spent money on a lawyer getting ready to battle a lie.
Glad for the winners !!
LEAVE PUBLIC EDUCATION... the public and MOST gop do not appreciate your work.
Enjoy enjoy enjoy
The GOP folks kids are all in private school or being home schooled. So it stands to reason why they want to cut education for the rest of us.
Zeivah - Because 50% of the children in public schools are just there for babysitting and recess! Then you have to teach to the lowest common denominator (LCD). Probably surpassed you on that one...
Absolutely amazing ... congrats to these three guys for finding the Mc Donald woman's lost ticket :-)