Is This Maryland McDonald's Employee a Mega Millions Winner or Just Crazy?
We all knew the Mega Millions frenzy would eventually turn into a depressing cauldron of sadness. A McDonald's worker in Baltimore, Maryland says she has the one winning ticket sold in her state, but her coworkers claim the ticket was bought as part of a lottery pool. Though she's probably just making the whole thing up.
Mirlande Wilson, 37, says she bought one of the three winning tickets for the $656 million Mega Millions jackpot, which would set her up for a $105 million payout after taxes. But there's a problem: She was part of a lottery pool at the McDonald's she works at, and her coworkers are understandably upset at the prospect of being cut out.
"These people are going to kill you. It's not worth your life!" said the boyfriend of a McDonald's manager when he went to Wilson's house to try to convince her to give up the ticket, according to the Post. But Wilson claims she bought the ticket separately from her colleagues, which is the oldest lottery pool cheater trick in the book.
Wilson's McDonald's coworkers probably have nothing to worry about. (Or, exactly the same amount to worry about.) It's become increasingly apparent that Wilson is not so much a lottery winner as a crazy person who found in the New York Post, which broke the story, the perfect partner for a sad dance into the spotlight. In her latest interview with the Post, she says she stashed the ticket inside of the McDonald's: "It's somewhere safe that only I know about," she said. It's probably next to the nutrition facts poster—nobody would ever look there.
One coworker told the Post, "I don't believe her. I didn't believe her from the beginning, she's always been strange. She's an attention seeker. She likes to have all the attention on herself."
The ticket is still unclaimed, according to Maryland lottery officials. And Wilson will be holding a press conference today.