Megaplier

Powerball has morphed into a jackpot juggernaut - the big gorilla of the lottery world - topping $200 million for the third time this year. As in since January. The last time was just six weeks ago, when New Jersey's Pedro Quezada hit an annuity prize worth $338.3 million, and collected $211 million in cash. Before taxes, of course . Because no one hit all the numbers drawn Saturday night - 7, 12, 26, 36 and 40, with a Powerball of 17 - the jackpot rose to $222 million for the annuity, or $144.5 million for the lump sum payout.

A Lancaster County ticket hit for $1 million in Powerball over the weekend. No one matched all the numbers in either major multi-state lottery, so the annuity jackpots went up to $127 million for Mega Millions, $40 million for Powerball. The Lancaster County ticket was Powerball's biggest winner. Sold at the Turkey Hill store at 1199 Prospect Road in Columbia, it was the only one in the country that matched the first five numbers drawn Saturday night - 2, 23, 31, 42 and 48 - while also having the Power Play multiplier option.

No one hit all the numbers drawn last night in Mega Millions, but a Philadelphia-area came close. It won $1 million by matching the first five numbers - 20, 24, 31, 33 and 36 - while having the Megaplier multiplier option. It missed only the Mega Ball, which was 44. The ticket was sold at the Spring City Sunoco, 3395 Schuylkill Rd., in Spring City. Friday's jackpot now will be worth $148 million for the annuity, $108 million as a lump sum. Also matching five numbers were two tickets sold in Michigan, and one each for Georgia, Illinois, California and Washington.

Mega Millions is primed for another kind of March madness. The annuity jackpot jumped up to $201 million last night, nearing the point at which sales skyrocket. Dec. 28 was the last time the lottery hit $200 million. Three days later, it was $242 million. Then it exploded, winding up at $380 million four days later - the second biggest U.S. jackpot ever. So if no one wins Friday, weekend lines for tickets could test people's patience in 41 states and Washington, D.C. True, the odds of winning seem infinitesmal - 1 in 175.7 million with a single ticket - but that's about 50 billion times better than randomly filling out a perfect NCAA basketball tournament pool.

A ticket sold in Lancaster County won $1 million in Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing. It's the fourth prize of six or more figures in just a week for Southeastern Pennsylvania. Nobody matched all the numbers - 39, 44, 51, 52 and 54, with a Mega Ball of 13 - so the jackpot rolls over to $35 million for Friday's drawing. The Lancaster County ticket was the only one nationwide to match the first five numbers, and the usual $250,000 payout was boosted to $1 million because the player also had the Megaplier prize-multiplying option.

A couple of nice windfalls landed in the Philadelphia area Tuesday, as the Mega Millions jackpot rose to $173 million. That's the annuity value for Friday's drawing. The cash payout would be about $129.5 million. Before taxes, of course. A Chester County ticket came close, winning $250,000 for matching the first five numbers - 20, 24, 27, 45 and 51 - but not the Mega Ball of 31. It was purchased at the Genuardi's Family Market on Eagleview Boulevard in Exton. Ohio, Texas and California each sold two tickets that matched five, while Georgia and Illinois sold one apiece.

The Powerball jackpot is up to $124 million because nobody matched all the numbers drawn Wednesday night. A ticket bought in Lancaster County came close, however. It won $1 million for matching the first five numbers - 1, 27, 31, 45 and 48 - but not the Powerball of 5. The purchase place: a Shell station on Main Street in New Holland. Two other $1 million winners were sold in Connecticut and Florida, while a South Carolina ticket won $2 million for also having the Power Play prize-boosting option.

Chances are somebody is going to get very rich this week. Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot is an all-time U.S. record of $255 million for the cash, and $356 million for the annuity, the fourth highest ever. No jackpot this big has ever rolled over. If it does, expect the first annuity ever of more than $400 million. The record is $390 million, set by Mega Millions in March 2007. If sales are frenzied enough, the jackpot could get revised upward before the drawing.

It's been a lucky week for South Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware, with first- or second-place wins totalling more than $3.5 million. Thursday night, a Jersey Cash 5 jackpot of $428,088 was split by tickets sold in Camden and Burlington Counties. Each had all the numbers drawn: 2, 4, 5, 13 and 29. They were sold at the Dollar Mart at 400 JFK Way in Willingboro, and at the 7-11 at 6001 Westfield Ave. in Pennsauken. Sunday, a Jersey Cash 5 jackpot of $614,894 was shared by two tickets, one sold at a Shoprite at 400 E. Evesham Rd. in Cherry Hill, the other at Pine Bay Liquors in Little Egg Harbor, Ocean County.

Powerball has morphed into a jackpot juggernaut - the big gorilla of the lottery world - topping $200 million for the third time this year. As in since January. The last time was just six weeks ago, when New Jersey's Pedro Quezada hit an annuity prize worth $338.3 million, and collected $211 million in cash. Before taxes, of course . Because no one hit all the numbers drawn Saturday night - 7, 12, 26, 36 and 40, with a Powerball of 17 - the jackpot rose to $222 million for the annuity, or $144.5 million for the lump sum payout.

Two Wednesday Powerball drawings have produced two $50 million winners. Assuming they both come forward. Last night, the top prize was won in Massachusetts when one ticket purchased there matched all the numbers drawn: 8, 10, 25, 36 and 44, with a Powerball of 28. Only one ticket, sold in Illinois, matched five to win $1 million. Last week, a Bucks County ticket won $50 million in Powerball. It matched all the numbers - 13, 17, 19, 27 and 38, with a Powerball of 12 - and was purchased at Levittown News & Tobacco, 411 S. Oxford Valley Road, in Fairless Hills.

A ticket sold in Lancaster County won $1 million in Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing. It's the fourth prize of six or more figures in just a week for Southeastern Pennsylvania. Nobody matched all the numbers - 39, 44, 51, 52 and 54, with a Mega Ball of 13 - so the jackpot rolls over to $35 million for Friday's drawing. The Lancaster County ticket was the only one nationwide to match the first five numbers, and the usual $250,000 payout was boosted to $1 million because the player also had the Megaplier prize-multiplying option.

What a difference a single number makes. A Chester County ticket has won $1 million for matching five numbers in Powerball, but would have won $124 million if it also matched the Powerball. A second Pennsylvania ticket also just missed in Mega Millions, scoring $250,000 instead of $32 million - which a New York ticket won. In Powerball, the numbers were 4, 7, 9, 30 and 54, with Powerball of 25. Oregon and Tennessee each had $2 million winners, who not only matched five, but had the Powerplay prize-boosting option.

Nobody hit the latest multistate lottery jackpots, but a Philadelphia ticket just missed, winning $2 million in Saturday's Powerball drawing, a day after a Camden County ticket won $250,000 in Mega Millions. The winning ticket was sold at Long Newsstand, 310 Oregon Ave., in South Philadelphia. It matched the first five numbers drawn, 8, 14, 15, 16 and 27, while having the Power Play prize-sweetener option. It missed only the Powerball, which was 26. New Jersey, along with New York and Arizona, each had a $1 million winner, who matched five numbers without the Power Play.

No such luck this time for Philadelphia. The latest Mega Millions jackpot, worth $118 million as an annuity, was won by a ticket purchased at a Citgo in Glenwood, Ill. The April 25 Powerball jackpot, worth $107.5 million cash, was claimed Friday by a group of 49 SEPTA workers, who bought their tickets at the Gallery in Center City. The Illinois ticket was the only one to match all of Friday's numbers: 4, 11, 21, 42, and 53, with a Mega Ball of 38. Missing only the Mega Ball were tickets sold in New York, Ohio, Tennesse, Illinois, California and Washington.

The gigundo Mega Millions jackpot may have skipped the Philadelphia area, but lesser windfalls keep coming in. The latest: a $496,000 Cash 5 win in Delaware County, a $250,000 Mega Millions win in Philadelphia, and a $166,005 Jersey Cash 5 win in Cumberland County. No such luck, however, in Wednesday night's Powerball drawing, which saw the jackpot roll over to $80 million for the annuity, $48.7 million cash, for Saturday night's drawing. Numbers: 1, 24, 33, 45 and 49, with a Powerball of 6. Winning $1 million for matching the first five were tickets sold in Ohio, Georgia, Louisiana and Kansas.

Chances are somebody is going to get very rich this week. Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot is an all-time U.S. record of $255 million for the cash, and $356 million for the annuity, the fourth highest ever. No jackpot this big has ever rolled over. If it does, expect the first annuity ever of more than $400 million. The record is $390 million, set by Mega Millions in March 2007. If sales are frenzied enough, the jackpot could get revised upward before the drawing.