RED BUD, Ill. —Merle Butler routinely laughed off what became the well-worn exchange among locals in Red Bud the instant word swept through the tiny southern Illinois village that a Mega Millions lottery ticket bought there scored a share of a record $656 million jackpot.
“Are you the winner?” someone would routinely ask.
“Yeah, sure, I won it,” the retired Butler played along each time. Little did anyone in the 3,700-resident town know Butler wasn’t kidding.
On Wednesday, 19 days since that drawing, Butler and his wife, Patricia, stepped in front of news cameras to claim their $218.6 million share of the jackpot. They chose a lump-sum $111 million after taxes. The other two winners are from Kansas and Maryland.
The grandparents 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 Butler, a former computer systems analyst and Vietnam veteran.The Associated Press
