Mega Millions

It's a good trick, making $101 million look like chump change. But Wednesday's Powerball jackpot is dwarfed by Tuesday's top prize in Mega Millions - $244 million for the annuity, or $155.7 million cash. That's the kind of territory that really gets players excited - and put records within reach. On Dec. 31, the lottery hit $242 million. Then it exploded, winding up at $380 million four days later - the second biggest U.S. jackpot ever. Although no one hit all the numbers drawn Friday night, a dozen tickets, including one sold in Philadelphia and five in New Jersey, came close, winning $250,000 each for matching the first five numbers - 14, 33, 34, 54 and 56 - but not Mega Ball of 37. The Philadelphia ticket was sold at Bi Rite Deli, 3220 Red Lion Rd. in the Northeast.

Mega Millions' cash jackpot could give Powerball's new record a run for the money. Tuesday, the lump sum - before taxes - in Mega Millions will be an estimated $170 million. If a single person wins, it would be the fifth biggest payout in U.S. lottery history. Last month, Powerball soared to an unprecedented payout of $210 million for the cash, as the annuity reached $336.4 million, sixth place all-time. (See list of biggest cash jackpots: http://bit.ly/z4Lgmc .)

A New York ticket hit the Mega Millions jackpot last night, which had an annuity value of $64 million or $41.8 million cash. The annuity jackpot reboots to $12 million for Friday's drawing - a fraction of tonight's Powerball jackpot of $190 million, or $99 million cash. A North Carolina ticket also won $1 million in last night's Mega Millions drawing, by matching the first five numbers - 5, 14, 17, 19 and 24 - while having the Megaplier multiplier option, which came up 4, quadrupling the regular $250,000 prize.

Twenty-eight tickets - including three in New Jersey and one in Pennsylvania - came oh so close. But because they missed the Mega Ball last night, they wind up with six-figure wins, instead of a piece of the giant Mega Millions jackpot hit by a single California ticket. It was purchased at L&L Hawaiian BBQ on Washington Boulevard in Pico Rivera, southeast of Los Angeles. The $266 million - the fifth biggest Mega Millions jackpot ever won by a single ticket - is the total of annual payments made over 26 years.

The multistate jackpots jumped again, with no one matching all of the numbers drawn in the latest Powerball and Mega Millions drawings. Winning $1 million, though, was a Mega Millions ticket with a multiplier in New Jersey, while $250,000 was won in both Jersey and Pennsylvania. Alas, they weren't from the Philadelphia area or South Jersey. The bigger - much bigger - jackpot up for grabs is the $173 million Powerball has on the line Wednesday night. No one hit all the numbers - 3, 8, 23, 30 and 58, with a Powerball of 13 - Saturday night, but winning $200,000 each were tickets sold in New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Florida and Texas.

No jackpot winners this week. No million-dollar winners either. At least not in the two major multistate lotteries. Because of a big head start, Powerball keeps growing faster than Mega Millions. Tuesday night, the top Mega Millions prize rose from $42 million to $54 million for tomorrow night's drawing. Last night, Powerball rose from $145 million to $170 million - more than doubling the other jump. If no one hits Saturday night, expect Powerball to rise to about $200 million.

The New Yorker who hit Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot is bound to be ecstatic. Just one ticket, bought at Ky's Coffee Shop in Midtown Manhattan, matched all the numbers: 5, 9, 22, 36 and 49, with a Mega Ball of 36. But wouldn't it be only human to also think, "Dang, why couldn't I hit when the jackpot was GIGANTIC?" It was worth $15 million, the game's lowest in nearly 2-1/2 years. In late March, the jackpot was more than a half-billion dollars richer, setting a new U.S. record with a top annuity prize of $656 million.

Holy rollover! For the first time in U.S. lottery history, an estimated jackpot has reached half-a-billion dollars. Yes, $500,000,000. The top prize was boosted late this morning, obliterating all previous records. The cash payout is now a staggering $359 million. Welcome to jackpot freak-out. Even major media outlets like Good Morning America were going gaga early today over Mega Millions' annuity rolling over to $476 million, blowing away the old mark of $390 million, set by the game in March 2007.

No one hit the latest major lottery jackpots, but a Delaware ticket won $1 million, and a couple of Eastern Pennsylvania tickets scored $250,000 each. Those wins happened in the Mega Millions lottery on Tuesday night, as the jackpot rose to $108 million - $79 million cash - for Friday's drawing. All three tickets, and another sold in Tennessee, matched the first five numbers - 6, 15, 29, 39 and 51 - but not the Mega Ball of 36. The Delaware player automatically won $1 million for also having bought the Megaplier.

April 13 was lucky for a 55-year-old Delaware man, who won $1 million in the latest Powerball drawing. "My son kept telling me I need to check my tickets and I kept putting it off," the unnamed winner told lottery officials. Unlike Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Delaware lets winners remain anonymous. But on Monday night, two days after the drawing, "I called the Delaware Lottery 800 number and lost my breath when I found out the news!" he said. Every week for five years, he has bought six lottery tickets, including two for Powerball, and liked to say that someday he would win. He matched the first five numbers -- 10, 12, 31, 56 and 57, but not the Powerball of 33. No one matched them all, so the jackpot rose for Friday's drawing to $80 million for the annuity, $56.1 million for the cash.

You know the odds are crazy bad against any individual scoring Powerball's current jackpot of $320 million. With a single ticket, the chances are an electron-microscopic 1 in 175 million. But did you know odds are good that no one will win the top prize? Yep, chances are we'll see another run at the game's all-time record, set Nov. 28, when lotto fever chased the Powerball jackpot up from $325 million to $587.5 million in just a few days. In U.S. history, it was topped by only the March 30 Mega Million jackpot, which reached $656 million.

Powerball's latest jackpot is worth $320 million, big enough to make the list of the 15 biggest annuity prizes ever in the United States. The cash jackpot of $198.3 million even makes the Top 10. For the numbers drawn Wednesday night and more, see " Powerball jackpot 4th biggest ever . " 2012 was the most jackpot-crazy year ever, producing the biggest Mega Millions jackpot ever, the biggest Powerball jackpot ever, and two more Powerball...

The Powerball jackpot has jumped over the $200 million mark, after rising more than $100 million in two weeks. Because no one hit all the numbers drawn Wednesday night - 5, 9, 28, 32 and 38, with a Powerball of 29 - Saturday's jackpot will be worth $216 million for the annuity, $132.8 million for the cash. Winning $1 million, for missing only the Powerball, were tickets sold in New Hampshire, Kentucky, Florida and North Dakota. If Powerball keeps rolling over, watch out. In November, after reaching $214 million in November, it rose to $250 million, then $325 million, then skyrocketed to a Powerball record of $540 million.

It took two Angels to win one astronomical amount of money in New Jersey. Angel Guallpa-Mayancela, 32, has claimed the $65.7 million cash payout from the Jan. 25 Mega Millions drawing. The annuity prize was advertised as $89 million. He bought the winning ticket at Lisa's Angel Corp., a shop in Orange, the town where he lives, just northwest of Newark. His winning numbers: 11, 12, 17, 31, and 48. "I've been telling my wife that someday she would be married to a millionaire because I am a hard worker," he told lottery officials.

Powerball and Mega Millions both had their jackpots won in the latest drawings. Powerball's, though, was much bigger - $217.2 million compared to $19 million for Mega Millions. The winning Powerball ticket, bought in the Richmond area, matched all the numbers drawn last night: 5, 27, 36, 38 and 41, with a Powerball of 12. As a result, Saturday's Powerball jackpot reboots to $40 million, or $25.1 million cash. Expect the winner to collect the cash - worth $136.4 million, since nobody's opted for the annuity in more than five years.

One ticket sold in New Jersey captured the latest Mega Millions jackpot, worth $89 million as an annuity, $66 million for the cash. Powerball, though, rolled over again, rising to a whopping $151 million in 30 yearly payments for Wednesday's drawing, $95.8 million in a lump sum. The Mega Millions winner ticket matched all the numbers drawn Friday night: 11, 12, 17, 31 and 48, with a Mega Ball of 1. The ticket was sold at Lisa's Deli, 328...

Charge another buck for Powerball, and KAPOW! the nation's lottery fever hits uncharted heights. Last year, Powerball and Mega Millions demolished the old marks for biggest jackpots, as Powerball sales soared to unprecedented levels. Before last year, no jackpot ever hit $400 million. In March, Mega Millions hit $656 million. In September, Powerball hit $587.5 million. Even their cash payouts broke the old annuity marks. Two other Powerball jackpots topped $300 million.

It's possible to better your odds of winning a lottery jackpot, says Richard Lustig, who's won several himself. Saturday evening, he'll be sharing advice at Pitman's Broadway Theatre, and selling copies of his book, Learn How to Increase Your Chances of Winning the Lottery . With a $15 charge for admission, and another $40 for the book, the question is: Aside from entertainment value, would plunking $55 on Powerball be money better, er, invested?...

PHOENIX - The second winner in last week's $587.5 million Powerball drawing is a married man in his 30s from the wealthy Phoenix suburb of Fountain Hills, lottery officials said Friday. The man remained anonymous, and his prize was announced by officials who said he bought $10 worth of tickets. They said he kept the winning slip in the visor of his car before coming forward. The man opted to take the pretax cash option of $192 million. Lottery officials said his wife owns half the prize because Arizona is a community property state.