Maryland Mega Millions Winners Are Three Public School Workers

Three Maryland public school workers stepped forward on Tuesday to claim a $218.6 million share of the record-breaking $656 million Mega Millions jackpot drawn on March 30.

The trio have chosen to remain anonymous and are calling themselves "The Three Amigos," according to the Baltimore Sun. The friends each pitched in $20 to buy $60 worth of lottery tickets from three different locations, including the Baltimore area 7 Eleven that yielded the winning ticket.

The winners chose to take the cash option of $158 million, and will take home just under $35 million each after taxes, according to the Maryland Lottery.

According to NBC Washington, two of the winners had to convince the third that their big-time lottery win was not an April Fools joke.

The "amigos" work in the Maryland public education system in different locations. One winner is an elementary school teacher, another is an administrative assistant, and another is a special education instructor. Lottery officials said that all three will return to work this week, out of "a strong commitment to their students."

"It’s gratifying to know that these individuals, who have given so much to the public through the years, have had this wonderful luck," Maryland Lottery Director Stephen Martino told MSNBC.

According to NBC Washington, the winners plan to buy homes and invest their winnings. They have also already met with a financial adviser -- an important step, given a recent Vanderbilt University study reporting that big lottery winners are more likely to go bankrupt. In the short run, two winners will take separate European vacations and a third will use some of the money for his daughter's education.

The Three Amigos' winning ticket appears to close the book on the controversy surrounding Mirlande Wilson, the Baltimore McDonald's employee who originally claimed that she had bought -- and then "misplaced" -- the winning ticket. Wilson did not win any part of the prize.

Two other winners of the $656 million jackpot are from Kansas and Illinois. The Kansas winner has chosen to remain anonymous and the Illinois winner has not yet come forward.

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Check out some crazy lottery stories:

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• New York Brothers Charged With Scamming $5 Million Lottery Ticket

  Two brothers from central New York who <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/13/andy-and-nayel-ashkar-lottery-scam_n_2123886.html">claimed a $5 million lottery ticket sold at their family's store were accused in November 2012 of scamming the winning ticket from a customer.</a> Andy Ashkar, 34, and Nayel Ashkar, 36, are charged with second-degree attempted grand larceny and fourth-degree conspiracy.

• Chicago Man Wins New Jersey Lottery While Cleaning Up After Hurricane Sandy

  John Turner, a 38-year-old Chicago man, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/11/john-turner-wins-lottery-_n_2105194.html">bought a winning $100,000 lottery ticket </a>after coming to New Jersey to help clean up after Hurricane Sandy. Turner runs National Catastrophe Solutions of Chicago, a local water removal business.

• Homeless Man Wins $200,000 Lottery Prize

  A homeless man in Greenville, S.C. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/19/homeless-man-wins-lottery-greenville_n_1989771.html">won $200,000 from a scratch-off lottery game</a> in October 2012.

• Teen Cancer Survivor Wins Mega Millions Lottery

  Nicholas Ruth, a 19-year-old cancer survivor, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/26/nicholas-ruth-teen-cancer-survivor-mega-millions-lottery-video_n_1916132.html">matched five of the six numbers in the state's Mega Millions lottery</a>, earning himself a second-tier prize of $250,000 in September 2012. After taxes, Ruth will have about $165,000 to spend and plans to donate some of his money back to the organizations that helped him with his leukemia.

• Friends Win Mega Millions Jackpot After Playing Together For 25 Years

  Willie McPherson, 74, and Christopher Manzi, 44, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/06/mcpherson-manzi-mega-millions-lottery-25-years_n_1944181.html#slide=757174">won a $14 million jackpot in September 2012 </a>after playing the Mega Millions lottery together for 25 years, according to the New York Post. The two had been buying lottery tickets together after becoming friends while working at Manzi’s print shop in Manhattan.

• Lotto Winner Found Million Dollar Ticket While Cleaning Out Desk

  Retired hospice chaplain Ron Yurcus <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/15/ron-yurcus-glen-ellyn-lot_n_2139308.html">stumbled across a million-dollar miracle when he found a winning lottery ticket while cleaning out his desk</a> in November 2012. He had purchased the Powerball ticket from a BP gas station two months earlier.

• Geniuses Outsmart Massachusetts Cash WinFall

  A group including MIT undergraduates and a biomedical researcher <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/02/massachusetts-cash-winfall-lottery_n_1729416.html" target="_hplink">discovered a loophole in the Cash WinFall game</a> that netted them nearly $48 million. Apparently, lottery officials knew about the scam since at least 2010, but did nothing about it because it generated $16 million in revenue for the state.

• Man Wins Lotto, Bails Himself Out Of Jail

  After John Ross Jr. won a 'Set For Life' scratch off game, he was looking forward to turning his life around. However, Ross soon <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/12/john-ross-california-lott_n_1590089.html" target="_hplink">found himself behind bars</a> after he allegedly helped a woman hide and repair a stolen car.

• Clerk Steals Winning Ticket From Great-Grandma

  A store clerk in England tried to turn in 77-year-old Maureen Holt's winning lottery ticket himself after <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/02/lottery-ticket-stolen-from-great-grandmother_n_1733871.html" target="_hplink">telling her it was a losing ticket</a>.

• Woman's Friend Steals Winning Scratch-Off

  A South Carolina woman's luck stopped short after she told a few friends about her winning $500 ticket. Willie Jones, a friend of the winner, was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/19/south-carolina-stolen-lottery-ticket_n_1686630.html" target="_hplink">charged with stealing her ticket</a>.

• Controversy Over Record Mega Millions Jackpot

  After <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/06/mirlande-wilson-mega-millions-mcdonalds_n_1408105.html" target="_hplink">McDonald's employee Mirlande Wilson</a> falsely claimed she won Mega Millions' record $656 million jackpot, three <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/10/maryland-mega-millions-winner_n_1414857.html?ref=money#s785675&title=Undocumented_Immigrant_Awarded" target="_hplink">Maryland school teachers</a> stepped forward to claim their share of the prize.

• Woman 'Hides' Winning Ticket At McDonald's

  Mirlande Wilson, a McDonald's employee in Baltimore, claimed she <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/02/mirlande-wilson-maryland-mcdonalds-worker_n_1396943.html" target="_hplink">had won the record-high $656 million Mega Millions jackpot </a>and that she <a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/what_mega_mess_wHA9HVdfxA1VDSqWn58KtJ" target="_hplink">was not going to share her winnings</a> with co-workers, who alleged that Wilson was a part of a workplace lottery pool. Wilson announced that she had <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/04/marlinde-wilson-mega-millions-winner-ticket-mcdonalds_n_1402892.html" target="_hplink">hid the winning ticket at a McDonald's</a> and subsequently <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/06/mirlande-wilson-mega-millions-mcdonalds_n_1408105.html" target="_hplink">claimed to have lost the ticket</a>. In the end, it was revealed<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/10/maryland-mega-millions-winner_n_1414857.html" target="_hplink"> Wilson never even had the winning ticket</a>.

• Teen Finds Ticket In Messy Bedroom

  Ryan Kitching, a Scottish teenager,<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/04/ryan-kitching-teenage-winning-lottery-tickert-clean-room_n_1319413.html" target="_hplink"> found a winning lottery ticket hiding in his bedroom</a> after his mother told him to clean his room. The ticket is worth more than $80,000.

• Chicago Couple Keeping Millions Secret

  One Chicago couple won <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-11-06/news/ct-met-anonymous-lottery-20111106_1_lottery-winners-illinois-lottery-lottery-jackpot" target="_hplink">$30 million in the Illinois lottery</a>, but didn't even tell their kids, according to the <em>Chicago Tribune</em>.

• Connecticut Money Managers Win Big Jackpot

  Greg Skidmore, Brandon Lacoff and Tim Davidson, who work at an asset management firm in Greenwich, one of the most affluent towns in America, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/29/254-million-jackpot-connecticut-money-managers_n_1119321.html">came forward as lottery winners in 2011</a>. Their lawyer said they formed a trust to manage the money after Davidson bought the $1 winning ticket at a Stamford gas station.

• Lotto Winner Continued To Collect Food Stamps

  Amanda Clayton, 24-year-old from the Detroit-area,<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/08/amanda-clayton-michigan-lottery-food-assistance-stamps_n_1330716.html" target="_blank"> continued collecting $200 in government food assistance</a> after she won a $1 million lotto prize.

• Undocumented Immigrant Awarded Lotto Prize After Lawsuit

  <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/09/jose-antonio-cua-toc-undocumented-immigrant-lottery-ticket_n_1334564.html" target="_hplink">Jose Antonio Cua-Toc, a foreign national from Guatemala,</a> sued his former boss to reclaim his lotto money, which he had given to his employer out of fear of being exposed as an undocumented immigrant. Cua-Toc won the lawsuit.

• Iowa Lottery Winner Claims $16.5 Million Prize At Last Minute

  The winner of an <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/30/iowa-lottery-winner-last-minute_n_1176971.html">Iowa Lottery ticket in 2011 </a>valued at $16.5 million waited until two hours before the deadline to claim the prize. The ticket was purchased nearly one year ago.

• Winning $80K Lottery Ticket Donated To Burglarized Georgia Church

  In 2011, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/03/winning-80k-lottery-ticke_n_947272.html">an anonymous donor stepped in to help a Georgia church that was burglarized with a winning $80,000</a> lottery ticket the Associated Press reports.

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Comments

[dbrett480]

06:56 PM on 05/03/2012

Good for them. At least people who have contributed to society have been rewarded.

[Simba216]

04:41 AM on 04/12/2012

If I won the lottery I would work for myself. My town wouldn't even see me for a few years, not because I'm now rich, but because I don't want the headaches. Since I live in Illinois, I'm going get the hell out of my neighborhood before I claim it. I'm sure many would love to win the lottery, but lying is not going to change the fact that you did not win. I'm sure there's reality show waiting for Wilson.

[manelady]

12:21 PM on 04/11/2012

Mirlande Wilson has been in touch with Alan West - he "heard" she had won the lottery.

[Jonnyboy007]

08:32 AM on 04/11/2012

Working at Macky Ds and yet soo desparate to get some limelight! That even looking like that! Hope you never get out of Macky Ds Lady!

[TriKyJoKeZ]

05:13 AM on 04/11/2012

She lied in hopes of getting a reality show.

[ddDinah]

05:10 AM on 04/11/2012

FABULOUS...

[wilmay]

03:34 AM on 04/11/2012

Obama says, " If I had a relative that won the lottery, she would look like Mirlande Wilson."

[Janet Anderson]

05:30 AM on 04/11/2012

wilmay...go away..............

[Eirenboy]

02:51 AM on 04/11/2012

I had no idea it was possible to remain anonymous.

[Camille Burns]

10:08 AM on 04/11/2012

depends on the state. lucky for them. new york makes you set yourself up for a kidnapping by going public.

[kasson719]

02:19 AM on 04/11/2012

Congratulations to these two teachers and administrative assistant. Can't think of any more deserving, for your dedication to children and special needs students.

[Camille Burns]

10:09 AM on 04/11/2012

and they will go back to work for now because they are dedicated to their students. kudos to them!

[Kevin Beacham]

02:13 AM on 04/11/2012

Very creative way to come forward without letting the world know youv'e just come into millions of dollars. That's the only down side to winning the lottery. You have to agree to publicly come forward.

[poirierii]

01:34 AM on 04/11/2012

Poor Mirlande! Talk about having a bad week! First she has to deal with her co-workers trying to get a share of her money, then she can't remember if she won from the pool or her own separate ticket, then remembered she left her ticket at McDonald's, then gets banned from that same McDonald's (not sure how she'd get to work - can't exactly telecommute those McNuggets), then misplaces her ticket... then THIS happens!

I'm a little disappointed the real winners came forward this soon - I wanted to see where the next twist of this story would take us. Sure wish I could also see this from their perspective on all this. :)

[Camille Burns]

10:17 AM on 04/11/2012

i know. that is a shame she did all of that. and the foolish lawyer made this public without seeing the damn ticket 1st. he just knew he was going to get paid.

[JR-Vette]

02:31 PM on 04/11/2012

It truly SUX to be Mirlande Wilson/

[Surius Cat]

12:32 AM on 04/11/2012

deport mirlande please....

[yhwh4ever]

11:38 PM on 04/10/2012

I told folk she was lying. Congrats to the "Real Winners"!

[Edge of the Ledge]

10:37 PM on 04/10/2012

cool story for once

[prudhommesinger]

10:27 PM on 04/10/2012

"Lottery officials said that all three will return to work this week, out of "a strong commitment to their students."

Integrity at it's finest. Thse guys DESERVE to win.

[Janet Anderson]

05:33 AM on 04/11/2012

maybe the 1% will learn something about we Americans and our dedication to each other. Something they know nothing about.