The perplexing Maryland Mega Millions conundrum was solved on Tuesday when the agency announced the true winners of the hefty cash prize.
Stephen Martino, director of the Maryland Lottery, announced that the ticket holders are three employees in the state’s public education system, who have opted to remain anonymous.
The announcement ends a two-week debacle involving a Baltimore McDonald’s employee who claimed to have the winning ticket.
Shortly after the winning numbers were announced in late March, Mirlande Wilson, a Haitian single mother of seven stepped forward and claimed to have it.
The woman made national headlines after she alienated her McDonald’s coworkers by claiming she bought the winning ticket outside of a company pool she had participated in, according to Fox News.
Her coworkers responded by filing a suit against her. Meanwhile, she told the New York Post that she had hidden the ticket somewhere in the restaurant and misplaced it.
“We believe it to be a legitimate claim,” said Edward Smith, Wilson’s attorney, at a press conference last week. “When it is time to present the ticket or whatever it is that needs to be presented to the lottery commissioner, I am sure that we will be there.”
Now, Wilson’s motives remain a mystery. The AFRO reached out to Smith for comment, but hadn’t received a response by press time. What were her motives? What was she thinking? Could wishing make it so?
A spokeswoman for the MSLA said the winners who came forward are the sole claimants of the Mega Millions jackpot. She added, “There was no indication that the three knew Ms. Wilson or were connected to her in any way.”
When asked whether there was any speculation to Wilson’s claims after she came forward, the spokeswoman said, “Our position all along has been that, until someone walked through the doors of the Maryland Lottery with the winning ticket in hand, there was no legitimate winner.”
The actual winners, who refer to themselves as “The Three Amigos,” arrived at Lottery headquarters on April 9 to claim their portion of the $656 million jackpot. The group chose the cash option of $158 million, which will be reduced to $105 million after taxes. After divvying up the amount, each ticket holder will take home $35 million.
“We couldn’t be more delighted with the winners,” a Maryland State Lottery spokeswoman told the AFRO in an emailed statement. “All three winners are hard-working individuals.”
The group is comprised of a woman in her 20s, a man in his 40s and another woman in her 50s. They said they pooled their money last month and bought 20 tickets each, for a total of 60 tickets. The youngest person in the group decided to hold on to all of the tickets and checked the numbers as soon as they were announced on March 30.
“I had all 60 tickets spread across my floor,” the woman said in a statement.
“Once I realized one was a winner, I called my two friends right away.”
Shortly thereafter, the trio decided to meet up and devise a plan. They made copies of the ticket, stashed them in a safe and later enlisted the help of a financial advisor.
The “Amigos” say they will continue to work for now. One ticketholder plans to buy a new home with his newfound fortune, while another plans to take a backpacking trip to Europe. The third winner wants to tour Italy’s wine country.
As the group celebrates its victory, Martino believes all Marylanders have a reason to rejoice.
“Although these three have hit the jackpot-of-a-lifetime, everyone in the state wins,” he said in a statement. “As a result of the big Mega Millions win, Maryland will receive more than $13 million in additional tax revenue to support the good cause of the state.”
Winning tickets were also sold in Kansas and Illinois. The Kansas winner, who also chose to remain anonymous, claimed the prize last week. The Illinois winner has not come forward. Meanwhile, two Maryland second-tier $250,000 tickets remain unclaimed.
