美国巨额彩票已有认领者

A winner has come forward to claim part of the record $656m (£413m) Mega millions jackpot, lottery² officials in the US state of Maryland said.

美国马里兰州彩票中心的官员称，6.56亿美元的巨额彩票已经有一人前来申领。

The shops that sold the winning tickets will receive a bonus of about $100,000
The winning ticket was bought at a 7-Eleven shop in Milford Mill¹, outside the state's largest city, Baltimore.

The winner will split³ the prize with two others from Illinois and Kansas.

A lottery spokeswoman confirmed that a winner had come forward but said she could not give any details before a news conference on Tuesday.

Mega Millions spokeswoman Carole Everett said the Maryland winner would remain anonymous⁴, but the lottery would share a "storyline" with the public at the news conference, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Last week, Mirlande Wilson, a woman from Maryland, said she held the winning ticket but lottery officials had said at the time that there were doubts about whether she was in fact the winner.

The world's biggest ever jackpot was drawn⁵ on 31 March. It had been growing since the end of January as there had been no winners in the earlier draws.

Each winner is expected to receive about $218m before tax. The winners can choose between receiving their full allotment（分配） in 26 annual payments⁶, or a lower instant cash option.

The Kansas winner came forward on Friday but has also chosen to stay anonymous. The Illinois winner has not so far claimed their prize.

Maryland was home to a lottery winner in 2007, when Ellwood "Bunky" Bartlett won about $27m after taxes.