'She giggled for about four hours': Illinois couple are the final winners to claim their $218million share of lottery

By Daily Mail Reporter

Published: 11:05 EST, 18 April 2012 | Updated: 16:44 EST, 18 April 2012


A retired southern Illinois couple has claimed the third and final share of last month's record $656million Mega Millions jackpot.

Merle and Patricia Butler bought three tickets, spending a whopping $3 on tickets, and were allotted $218million.

‘She giggled for about four hours, I think,’ Mr Butler said of his wife’s reaction to winning.

Scroll down for video

Happy surprise: At first, Patricia and Merle Butler could not believe that one of the three tickets they purchased had the winning combo

State laws: Illinois, unlike Maryland and Kansas where the other lottery winners live, require recipients to publicly accept their winnings

The couple waited to come forward until Wednesday after spending some time hiring ‘real good financial advisers’ and lawyers.

They opted to take their winnings in a lump sum payment, which amounts to a total of $158million.

‘I looked (at) my wife, who was right there with me and said, “We won,”’ Mr Butler said.

‘Then she looked at me funny, and I said “No, we won!”’

The couple, who have grandchildren, have no immediate plans other than to craft an investment strategy.

Perhaps months down the road, 'there could possibly be a vacation in there,' quipped Mr Butler, a former computer systems analyst and Vietnam veteran.

Try as they may to keep their identity secret, there is little that they could do: Illinois legally requires lottery winners to come forward publicly to accept their prize.

The same is not true in Kansas and Maryland where the other winning tickets were claimed. Both the one winner in Kansas and the three people who bought the Maryland ticket opted to remain anonymous.

Top ticket: Merle Butler holds up his $3 ticket, with the top line showing the winning numbers

Though their names are secret, the Maryland winners are said to be two women- one in her 20s and the other in her 50s- and a man in his 40s. They are all public school employees- one is an elementary school teacher, the other a special education teacher, and the third an administration worker- and have said that they intend to keep working.

'Are you the winner?' someone would routinely ask after hearing someone in their small town had won.

'Yeah, sure, I won it,' Mr Butler played along each time.

Prior to the announcement, Mr Butler routinely laughed off what became the well-worn exchange among locals in Red Bud once they learned there was a winner in their midst.

'Are you the winner?' someone would routinely ask.

'Yeah, sure, I won it,' Mr Butler played along each time.

Little did anyone in the 3,700-resident town know Mr Butler wasn't kidding.

The Butlers, who are retired analysts, have spent all their lives in Red Bud, Illinois, a small town southeast of St. Louis, Missouri.

'They deserve it,' added Brenda Holcomb, a retired bartender thrilled it was someone from Red Bud - and not a passing motorist.

'Of course, it would be better if I had it. I'd have a Miller Lite truck parked outside here right now.'
With money that could allow them to relocate anywhere, the Butlers pledge they're staying put.

Merle Butler called Red Bud a 'comfortable, family-oriented community.'

Spreading the love: Denise Metzger, the manager of the Motomart that sold the ticket, celebrates their win of $500,000 from the Illinois lottery for their part in the victory

'We've lived here a long time. We don't plan to go anywhere else.'

They bought their ticket at a MotoMart in Red Bud and were understandably shocked when their number was called in the March 30 drawing.

The boon for the Butlers was also big for Red Bud, a village about 40 miles from St. Louis that's more known for its yearly firemen's parade and its elaborate downtown Christmas displays.

'Everyone now knows who we are,' Mayor Tim Lowry told The Associated Press of the village's 15 minutes of fame since the March 30 drawing. 'We used to be a joke on a T-shirt saying, "Where the Hell is Red Bud?"'

About 100 locals gathered outside the village hall to see who the winner was, then clapped, whistled and yelled 'Congratulations!' as the Butlers emerged briefly and were whisked away in a police car.

In addition to being good news for the small town’s media presence, the lottery also brought in money for the Motomart workers.

The store was awarded a $500,000 bonus from the Illinois Lottery and the owners gave the nine employees $50,000 of that to share.

 WATCH THE VIDEO HERE


RICH: TOP WINNERS BY LUMP SUM & JACKPOT

$177,270,519.67 - $365 million Powerball jackpot

ConAgra Foods Coworkers of Nebraska, 2006

Some of the winning eight co-workers at a food plant in Nebraska  said they had pooled whatever money they could afford for years to play the lottery, before it finally paid off. Then most of them, without specific plans on what to do in celebration, only aimed to enjoy a leisurely life: paying bills, getting some sleep and even working their jobs until a new employee could be found in replacement. A year later, Mike Terpstra, a former graveyard-shift sanitation supervisor admits, ‘The most extravagant thing I've done is I've started to play golf. I'm pretty practical.’ Though a former-co-worker of his, a little different in his purchases, now basks on a privately owned 160-acre deer hunting and bass-fishing retreat named ‘Easy Acres.’ ‘This is paradise right here,’ winner Eric Zornes says at his new escape.

$164,410,058.03 - $340 million Powerball jackpot 

Chaney & West Families of Oregon, 2005

Since winning their record-breaking jackpot, Steve and Carolyn West alongside Francis Chaney have established the Robert & Frances Chaney Family Foundation for poor children and families in Southern Oregon. ‘We’d been in some of those situations ourselves before the lottery,’ Carolyn West says, recalling struggles after her husband lost his job and their daughter was diagnosed with diabetes. ‘We just want to give back. We don’t expect anything in return,’ she says.

$151,664,457.51 - $254 million Powerball jackpot

The Putnam Ave. Family Trust of Connecticut, 2011

Greg Skidmore, Brandon Lacoff and Tim Davidson, all of Greenwich, Connecticut - one of America's wealthiest towns - showed themselves at a press conference, but weren't saying much about the win.The jackpot was the largest ever won in Connecticut and the 12th biggest in Powerball history. The largest previous lottery jackpot in Connecticut was $59.5 million in June 2005.

$145,985,099.64 - $314.3 million Powerball jackpot

Coterel & Hiles Family of Indiana, 2007

David Coterel, a retired father who purchased $20 worth of Powerball tickets in a split-second decision claimed the 8th largest jackpot in the world. Alongside his two grown children, he vowed to split the amount in thirds as the sibling duo looked forward to quitting their jobs and Mr Coterel - a General Motors retiree – said he looked forward to watching his children live out their dreams. The Indiana family looked forward to a simple life, though, admitting, with a few new extra vehicles.

$143.5million - $336.4million Powerball jackpot

Louise White of Newport, Rhode Island, 2012

White, an 81-year-old grandmother, bought the ticket on a whim when out buying rainbow sherbet at a convenience store. She lives with her grown son and his wife. 'I want to say that I’m very happy and I’m very proud, and this will make my family very happy,' she said at the time. Her lump sum was $210 million before taxes, minus $52.5 million in federal taxes and more than $14 million to the state.


$139,421,731.44 - $276 Million Powerball

Monongalia County Tax Office 8 of West Virginia, 2008 

Eight female employees of a sheriff tax office embraced their win and each other while looking forward to shoe shopping and celebrating. 'We're ordinary people, just like everybody else in West Virginia. We've dreamt of winning the Powerball, and you dream of what you want to do for your family and friends,' the group's designated spokesperson chief tax deputy Linda Fominko said for the group.