The winners of half of the recent Mega Millions record $390 million jackpot have been named as Elaine and Harold Messner from Cape May County, New Jersey. The couple have decided to take a single cash lump sum rather than a series of annual payments, so they receive $116,557,083 before taxes.

Elaine and Harold have lived in Cape May County for almost forty years, and their Mega Millions win will mean that they will be able to enjoy their golden years in style. "We feel very fortunate and blessed," Harold said. "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."

Harold bought his winning ticket from a local liquor store and selected his numbers at random using the Quick Pick system. Discovering the win was unbelievable, and led to a bout of lottery-induced insomnia, as he explained: "I checked the last number twice, called for my wife and told her we won. She had a very hard time believing it. Then, we didn't sleep for the rest of the night."

The lucky couple didn't immediately come forward to claim their 50% share of the record-breaking Mega Millions jackpot. Instead they took some time to get used to the idea of being rich. "I think it took us both until about Friday just to let the fact that we won sink in," Harold said. "After that, we signed the ticket and put it into a safe place. Then we sought out financial advice. My wife and I are good with money, but when you're talking $88 million, its always a good idea to let someone who manages money for a living lend a hand."

Harold and Elaine will also be taking their time when it comes to deciding how to spend and invest their fortune. "In a lot of ways, were still recovering from the shock of winning all this money," Harold said. "I know this means were 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."

The $390 million Mega Millions jackpot was the biggest in the history of the game. The biggest jackpot won by a single ticket in New Jersey was in September 2005, when a Mr Lerner and his wife won $258 million. And if you like coincidences then how about this one: Mr Lerner's first name was Harold.