A Haitian woman working at a Maryland, US McDonald’s is one of three persons to win the Mega Millions US jackpot of US$656M but there is some controversy over whether her co-workers should also benefit.
The New York Post said that workers at the fast-food retaurant who pooled their cash for tickets are furious at Mirlande Wilson who claims she won with a ticket she bought for herself and has no intention of sharing.
“We had a group plan, but I went and played by myself. [The ‘winning’ ticket] wasn’t on the group plan,” McDonald’s “winner’’ Wilson 37, told The Post yesterday, insisting she alone bought one of the three tickets nationwide that will share the record payout.
“I was in the group, but this was separate. The winning ticket was a separate ticket,” the single mother of seven said as she and her fiancé left her home in the Westport neighbourhood to attend church.
The New York Post said that with winning tickets also sold in Illinois and Kansas, a single Maryland winner would get an after-tax lump sum of $105 million, or $5.59 million a year for 26 years.
Wilson’s co-workers — who make little more than US$7.50 an hour — are angry over the notion.
“She can’t do this to us!” said Suleiman Osman Husein, a shift manager and one of 15 members in the pool. “We each paid US$5. She took everybody’s money!”
A man identifying himself as the boyfriend of a McDonald’s manager named Layla, who was part of the pool, said Wilson bought tickets for the group at the 7-Eleven in Milford Mill, where the winning ticket was sold, the Post reported.
