N.J. couple claim half of record $390 million jackpot

A Cape May County, N.J., couple claimed half the record $390 million jackpot today and said they were now retired - effective immediately.

Elaine and Harold Messner chose the cash option from the March 6 drawing. They will receive $116,557,083 before the 25 percent federal withholding tax.

"We feel very fortunate and blessed," said Harold Messner, 57, who purchased the winning ticket. "This is that early retirement we've always dreamed of. Now we can do all those things we said we would do once we retired."

A truck driver in Georgia had the other winning ticket.

Messner and his wife, who is 56, live in the Tuckahoe section of Upper Township, not far from the liquor store where they purchased the winning ticket.

The couple let the lottery machine randomly select numbers for them.

Harold Messner said he was surprised when he saw that the quick pick he had purchased at Campark Liquors in Woodbine had all the winning numbers. He says he and his wife did not sleep for the rest of the night.

"I checked the last number twice, called for my wife, and told her we won," he said. "She had a very hard time believing it."

The Messners issued a statement through their lawyer, Richard King of Linwood, who said they would not speak with reporters or attend a news conference to discuss their prize.

"They have asked me not to release any additional information beyond what was included in the press release," King said. He would not say what the couple did for a living before winning the massive jackpot.

"In a lot of ways, we're still recovering from the shock of winning all this money," Harold Messner said in the statement. "I know this means we're officially a retired couple, but past that, Elaine and I are still sorting all of this out. We have some ideas about what we want to do with this big win, but haven't made any big decisions yet."

He said he consulted with a financial adviser before coming forward to claim the jackpot.

The Messners are former Pennsylvania residents who moved to Cape May County nearly 40 years ago.

Their prize amount is half of the largest jackpot in the history of Mega Millions and in the history of North American lotteries.

The largest single-ticket win in the New Jersey Lottery's 36-year history, however, was claimed by Harold and Helen Lerner - the sole winners of a Mega Millions jackpot of $258 million on Sept. 16, 2005.