Merle and Patricia Butler, Illinois Mega Millions winners, claim prize

Retired Southern Illinois couple Merle and Patricia Butler stepped forward Wednesday with the third winning ticket to claim their share of the record $656 million Mega Millions jackpot.

"I looked (at) my wife, who was right there with me and said, 'We won,'" Red Bud resident Merle Butler, 65, told reporters of the moment he realized he had a winning ticket the night of the March 30 drawing. "Then she looked at me funny, and I said, 'No, we won.'"

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"She giggled for about four hours, I think," he said, according to CNN.

The Butlers' share of the record jackpot is $218.6 million. They chose to accept the prize as a lump-sum payment of $158 million after taxes, The Associated Press reported.

The other two winning tickets have been anonymously claimed in Maryland and Kansas, according to the Huffington Post.

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Merle and Patricia Butler bought a $3 quick-pick ticket at the MotoMart convenience store in Red Bud, which is about 40 miles southeast of St. Louis, according to the AP.

Merle Butler said he and his wife stayed up all night when they learned they had a winning ticket. The next day, they put the ticket in a lock-box at a local bank, the Huffington Post reported.

According to the Huffington Post, the couple has been thinking of ways they can invest the money and has consulted advisers and lawyers.

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