The third and final winner of last month's record Mega Millions jackpot has come forward in Illinois, the only one of the three who won't be protected by anonymity laws. Lottery officials in that state say the winner will be revealed on Wednesday, when they are presented with a check for their share of the gargantuan $656 million jackpot. The other winning tickets were purchased in Maryland and Kansas where state law allows lottery winners to remain anonymous. Since the Illinois winner will be the only one the public gets to meet, expect a big reception and three times the usual  "what are you going to do with the money?" questions.

The prize will be worth $218.6 million if taken as 26 annual payments, or about $158 million before taxes, if taken as one lump sum payment. The winning ticket was purchased at a gas station in Red Bud, Illinois, a small town near St. Louis, with a population around 4,000. The station owner received $500,000 for selling the winning ticket and gave $50,000 to split among the businesses' nine employees.

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Dashiell Bennett