Here's hoping Georgia doesn't blow its latest jackpot win.
A $77.1 million annuity prize expired late last month when no one stepped forward with the winning Powerball ticket, purchased at a Tallapoosa, Ga., truck stop on June 29. Georgia, unlike New Jersey and Pennsylvania, gives players only six months to submit claims.
Far luckier was Kathy Scruggs of Lithonia, Ga., who won $25 million in the Sept. 14 Powerball drawing - because a store clerk goofed when she asked for a Mega Millions ticket.
The latest win came last night, as a single ticket sold in Atlanta matched all the numbers in the $71 million Mega Millions drawing - 10, 22, 24, 36 and 49, with a Mega Ball of 33. Saturday's jackpot will start over at $12 million.
A Pennsylvania ticket won $250,000 for being one of 10 tickets that matched the first five numbers. It was sold at Morgantown Beverage, 3740 E. Main St., in Morgantown, Berks County.
Illinois, Michigan and California each sold two that missed only the Mega Ball, while Massachusetts, Kentucky and Oregon each had one.
Tonight's Powerball jackpot is worth $120 million for the annuity, or $75.1 million cash. Tickets went up to $2 each on Jan. 16, and the regular second-place prize was hiked to $1 million, which gets boosted to $2 million if the player also buys the still-$1 Power Play option.
Mega Millions tickets cost $1, and no plans have been announced to change that.
Forty-two states, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, offer both Powerball and Mega Millions.
For more on lotteries, go to www.philly.com/philly/news/lottery, www.palottery.com or www.njlottery.net.
