Reason #5,110 to hate lottery winners

[CountDeMoney]

lol, finally.

The holder of the winning Mega Millions ticket purchased at a Baltimore County convenience store stepped forward Monday to claim the prize, officials said.

Maryland Lottery spokeswoman Carole Everett did not identify the winner, who will share the largest lottery prize in history.

Everett said the winner will remain anonymous, but lottery officials plan to share a "story line" with the public during a news conference Tuesday morning.

A Westport woman drew international attention last week when she said she had bought one of the three winning tickets sold nationwide in the $656 million drawing on March 30.

Mirlande Wilson, a mother of seven who emigrated from Haiti, could not immediately be reached for comment Monday evening. Her cellphone voice mail was full.

The winning ticket was sold at a 7-Eleven on Liberty Road in Milford Mill about four hours before the drawing.

The New York Post reported last week that Wilson was fighting over the ticket with her co-workers at a nearbyMcDonald'srestaurant.

The co-workers said Wilson bought the ticket as part of a workplace pool and should share the winnings. Wilson acknowledged purchasing tickets for the pool but said she bought the winner with her own money.

As the week went on, she told reporters that she wasn't sure the ticket was a winner, that she had hidden it at the restaurant and that she had lost the ticket.

Everett said last week that she had heard rumors about Wilson and other supposed winners, but "we're not going to chase gossip."

"That one just happened to make the newspaper," she said. "We do not expect this woman to come in."

At a news conference Wednesday, Wilson wouldn't so much as nod to acknowledge that she had the ticket. Her attorney, Edward Smith Jr., said he could not "say with any certainty that this ticket exists."

Smith also said that Wilson "doesn't want 15 minutes of fame. ... She wants, I think, a lifetime of being anonymous."

Lottery officials held a news conference of their own Thursday to stress that no one had claimed the prize and to urge lottery players to recheck their numbers before throwing out their tickets.

Reached after that event, Wilson said she was not "ready" to cash in her ticket and that she was "a little bit stressed."

The holder of a ticket purchased in Kansas came forward last week and will also remain anonymous, officials there said. No one has turned in the winning ticket purchased in Illinois.

Each successful claimant stands to take home more than $100 million after taxes.

[Caliga]

I wonder if Al Sharpton will defend her.


"This woman did not win the lottery due to RACISM!"

[CountDeMoney]

You're an idiot, Cal.

[Caliga]

Love you too.

[CountDeMoney]

Love you too.

Here ya go, Cal:  somebody you can hate more than blacks:  teachers!

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.

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.

[Caliga]

What are you talking about?  I come from a family of teachers, so I love them. I don't come from a family of blacks, but I love them also.

[MadImmortalMan]

So, if the lottery is a tax on the stupid, what does that say about Maryland public education?

[DGuller]

How heartwarming to see a story about three teachers with bills to pay spend $60 on lottery tickets.  Yes, those particular people won, but how many people in the same situation didn't?

[CountDeMoney]

What are you talking about?  I come from a family of teachers, so I love them. I don't come from a family of blacks, but I love them also.

You invoked THE MOST REVEREND Al Sharpton.  That was completely unnecessary.

[Caliga]

Al is always necessary.  If you don't believe me, I would suggest you ask him to confirm.

[CountDeMoney]

Al is always necessary.  If you don't believe me, I would suggest you ask him to confirm.

Don't worry, Reverend Al and I are like that.

[stjaba]

How heartwarming to see a story about three teachers with bills to pay spend $60 on lottery tickets.  Yes, those particular people won, but how many people in the same situation didn't?

A couple million. One idiot NBA player bought $1000 worth of tickets.

[Ed Anger]

I didn't know until this year you could deduct lottery (and gambling) losses up to your winnings. Good thing I'm lazy and don't throw away my scratch offs.

[katmai]

How heartwarming to see a story about three teachers with bills to pay spend $60 on lottery tickets.  Yes, those particular people won, but how many people in the same situation didn't?

A couple million. One idiot NBA player bought $1000 worth of tickets.

add another 0 there.

[Razgovory]

Heh, Reminds me.  A girl I went to Highschool with was charge with stealing 13,000 bucks and spending it on lottery tickets.