BALTIMORE-The story of the Maryland Mega Millions ticket came to a close Tuesday after unfolding for more than a week.
Three people have come forward with a winning ticket for the historic $656 million Mega Millions jackpot. The winners will split the $218.6 million portion of the jackpot. They have chosen the cash option of $158 million. After taxes, they will walk away with nearly $35 million each.
The friends, or “The Three Amigos” as they referred to themselves, have decided to remain anonymous.
However, some details have been released about the trio.
“All three winners, a woman in her twenties, a man in his forties and a woman in her fifties, have worked together for many years in the public school system of the state of Maryland,” said Stephen Martino, the Director of the Maryland Lottery.
Two of the winners are public school teachers — one elementary school and one special education — and one provides administrative support. They each gave twenty dollars for a pool to buy a total of 60 tickets at three separate locations. The winning ticket was purchased at 7-11 in Milford Mill.
Each of the winners works at least one other job in addition to their position in the school system.
“If it can’t be you, these are precisely the people you would want to see win the lottery,” Martino said.
Each has already begun to think about what they will do with their new wealth.
“For one, they hope to take a backpacking trip through Europe with their brother,” Martino said. “Another winner wants to pay for his daughters’ college educations and buy his sister a new house. The other would like to tour Italy’s wine country.”
The State of Maryland will receive more than $13 million in tax revenue as their share of the jackpot. The 7-11 where the ticket was purchased will receive $100,000 for selling the winning ticket.
The other two winning Mega Millions tickets were chosen in Kansas and Illinois. The Illinois winner has not yet come forward. The Kansas winner has come forward but has also chosen to remain anonymous.