First winner of record Mega Millions jackpot comes forward in Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas Lottery officials say the winner of a share of a $656 million Mega Millions jackpot wants to remain anonymous.
Lottery Director Dennis Wilson says the person came to the agency's Topeka headquarters Friday morning with an attorney and some financial advisers. Wilson says the person does not want to be identified, even by gender.
The winner did not take part in the lottery's news conference Friday afternoon.
Wilson says the winning ticket for the March 30 drawing was bought at a Casey's General Store in Ottawa, about 40 miles southeast of Topeka.
The person is taking the winnings in a lump sum of almost $158 million, or roughly $110 million after taxes.
Winning tickets also were purchased in Illinois and Maryland, making the Kansas ticket worth almost $219 million.
The winner has waited almost a week since the Friday drawing that produced the three winning tickets for the multi-state game. But Kansas law allows someone to wait up to a year to claim a lottery prize — and permits them to remain anonymous.
In other lottery news, a woman who has claimed to have Maryland's winning Mega Millions ticket now says she has misplaced it.
Mirlande Wilson of Baltimore told WRC-TV in Washington on Thursday that the ticket is misplaced.
When asked by WRC if she would claim the jackpot, Wilson replied, "If I find it... I misplaced it."
Wilson had previously said she hid the ticket at the McDonald's where she works.
One of three winning tickets for the record-breaking $656 million prize was sold at a 7-Eleven in Milford Mill. The others were sold in Kansas and Illinois.
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If you KNEW you had a winning ticket, no matter where you put it, do you honestly think you'd "misplace" it?
Maybe she's hoping the heat will die down from the fact that it was part of the office pool, and then she can claim it on her own several months from now and nobody will pay any attention?
Kind of reminds me of that winning ticket for a $16.5 million Iowa lottery jackpot that got turned in less than two hours before it was due to expire last December. It was signed by a lawyer claiming he represented a "trust." He refused to say who his client was (although he admitted the trust was based in Belize) or how he came to be in possession of the ticket, so instead of paying out the jackpot (the lawyer withdrew the claim), it is now under a criminal investigation.
Nobody "misplaces" a lottery ticket worth $110 million.
This woman is too stupid to be rich. I'll bet that McD's was tossed. :-)
Lawyering up and guarding your ID upon winning a pile like that is smart though. Unless you enjoy being a target for everybody who thinks your money ought to somehow be their money.
Nice that CBS News finally figured out that Ferry Porsche died. Only a day late. Are you guys asleep there in the back or what?
Same thing with Sir Jim Marshall OBE. The Guv'nor. The Father of Loud.
Marshall Amplifiers, I.E. Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and thousands of others. All used his ground breaking amps.
He passed away yesterday too. Nothing from CBS on that either.
Amazing what CBS DID post on their World section though!
RIP Ferry Porsche and RIP Sir Jim Marshall OBE.
Thank you for building great cars and amplifiers. You will be missed.