Mega Millions Winners Identified
(CBS) – For two weeks, we've all been wondering who was the lucky winner of $393 million.
Friday, we found out.
CBS 2's Sandra Torres shows us who hit the Mega Millions jackpot.
For Patricia Busking and her husband, Joe, it's all still surreal.
"It's amazing to think how lucky we were to be in the right place at the right time," she says.
The right place was Nick's Barbecue in Palos Heights.
The retired healthcare worker bought the ticket there on Aug. 11, not even imagining she'd hit the jackpot to become the winner of the largest prize in Illinois history.
"It was surreal. It was an out-of-body experience," Patricia Busking says of learning she had won.
It took her two weeks to come forward and claim her prize. But, as Illinois Lottery acting director Greg Smith points out, that time is critical, especially with a win of this magnitude.
He says winners take the time to get their affairs in order.
While Busking and her husband are still taking it all in, they have an idea of where the money will go.
"We plan on to share our winnings with family and friends, and we're very excited to be able to donate to charities that are near and dear to our hearts," she says.
Busking opted to take a one-time payment of $246 million.
She rarely plays the lottery. She won with randomly picked numbers.