Who says "13" is unlucky?
Thanks to that number, two tickets hit huge jackpots in the latest major lottery drawings, while a Pennsylvania ticket skipped it but also snagged a lot of loot - $1 million.
On Saturday night, a Georgia ticket hit the Powerball jackpot, which had grown to $116 million. Wednesday's potential windfall will be $20 million.
On Friday night, a ticket purchased in New York City won the Mega Millions jackpot, which had an annuity value of $54 million. As a result, Tuesday's top prize will be back to $12 million.
Powerball's jackpot-winning ticket, purchased in Mableton, Ga., matched all the numbers: 1, 18, 37, 39 and 44, with a Powerball of 13.
A Texas ticket won $1 million for matching all but the Powerball, while having the Power Play multiplier option. Winning $200,000 each were players in Iowa, Louisiana and Missouri.
The Mega Millions grand-prize winner, purchased at Melissa Meat Market, 772 Sutter Ave. in Brooklyn, had every number drawn: 3, 4, 14, 18 and 27, with a Mega Ball of 13.
Yes, both the Powerball and the Mega Ball came up 13.
Remarkably, five second-place prizes, worth $250,000 each, were hit by tickets purchased at another Brooklyn retailer, VC Games at 5518 Fifth Ave.
Makes one wonder: Did one person, bracketing a set of numbers, buy five almost-winners in one place, then buy the winner at another? The two locations are about eight miles apart.
Yet another quarter-million winner was purchased in the Bronx.
Odd for one city to win nearly a third of a lottery's two top prizes - and for one state to have almost half.
Three tickets - in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Illinois - matched all but the Mega Ball, while have the Megaplier multiplier option, which automatically boosts the second-tier take to $1 million.
The Pennsylvania ticket was purchased at the Sheetz market at 315 Water St. in Conneaut Lake, Crawford County, which is north of Pittsburgh.
Also winning $250,000 were tickets purchased in Rochester and Nesconset, N.Y.; at a Krauszer's Food Store in Piscataway, N.J.; and in Maryland, Georgia and Michigan.
In California, under its pari-mutuel system, the same combination of numbers paid "only" $108,042 to each of two winners.
For more lottery information, go to www.philly.com/philly/news/lottery, www.powerball.com and www.megamillions.com.