2 Mega Millions tickets worth $250,000 sold in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA - April 2, 2012 (WPVI) -- While the world waits to find out who holds the winning tickets from the $656 million Mega Millions drawing on Friday, we now know that five people in Pennsylvania came very close.

Five tickets that matched all five white balls, but not the Mega ball, were sold in the Keystone State - those tickets are worth $250,000. Two of those tickets were sold in Philadelphia.

The locations where those tickets were sold are:

Philly's News Stand, 3302 S. Convention Ave., Philadelphia
Wister Beer Distributor, 5765 Wister St., Philadelphia
Rutters, 2125 Susquehanna Trail, York, Pa.
Mike's Bilo, 32 S. Fifth St., Reynoldsville, Jefferson County
7-Eleven, 444 Route 519, Eighty Four, Washington County

Meanwhile, three tickets sold elsewhere in the country had the winning numbers from Friday night's Mega Millions drawing. Now, the question is, who are the big winners?

The winning tickets were sold in Maryland, Illinois and Kansas.

In Maryland, it appears a controversy may already be brewing. The New York Post reports that a 37-year-old Haitian immigrant and McDonald's worker, Mirlande Willson, claims she bought the winning ticket on her own. However, the Post reports, her co-workers say she bought it as part of an office pool.

Wilson told the Post "I was in the group, but this was separate. The winning ticket was a separate ticket."

All anyone really knows is the ticket was purchased at a 7-Eleven store outside Baltimore.

Stephen Martino, the director of the Maryland Lottery, said Monday on NBC's "Today" show that the ticket, one of three winning tickets purchased for the record-breaking $640 million prize, has yet to be claimed.

A phone number listed for Wilson went to a voicemail inbox that said it was full early Monday, according to the Associated Press.

The Maryland winner, and the winner from northeast Kansas, can remain anonymous thanks to the lottery rules in those states.

However, the person who bought the ticket in Red Bud, Illinois, must come forward to get the check for $218 million.

"Everybody is wondering who won it," said Bob Otten of Red Bud.

At one bar, ABC News encountered Gary Liefer. According to the rumor mill in town, he is the big winner.

Gary's response? "I didn't win, I didn't win." He showed ABC News his phone with 150 missed calls and too many text messages to count.

Across the country, 158 players matched five numbers and won $250,000, including 29 Californians - among them a donut shop worker who has already quit his job.

Mega Millions increases final jackpot to $656M

Lottery officials say the record-breaking Mega Millions jackpot was even higher than originally announced.

After sales from the 44 state lotteries were totaled, the final jackpot for Friday's drawing was increased to $656 million. It had previously been reported as $640 million.

The three tickets matched all six numbers: 2-4-23-38-46 and had the Mega Ball 23.

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lottery, mega millions, philadelphia, pennsylvania, illinois, maryland, kansas, local/state

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