Yo, lucky Philly: Biggest jackpot in 6 months

When good karma's in the air, some folks think of lotteries.

It's been a crazy lucky stretch in Philadelphia lately, with the Phillies - surprise! - landing ace Cliff Lee, then the Eagles' Sunday miracle, deflating the New York Giants, 38-31, with four touchdowns in about half a quarter.

Wouldn't it be nice if a giant jackpot got won here, too? There's quite an inviting candidate. Tuesday's Mega Millions annuity jackpot will be $145 million - the most since June.

OK. The odds are sickeningly ridiculous of winning all that loot, but it will get won - perhaps after bounding upward for a few more drawings - since a sickeningly ridiculous number of people play.

The jackpot, which has been building for about six weeks, rose because no one hit all the numbers drawn Friday - 11, 20, 26, 46 and 53, with a Mega Ball of 12.

Two New Jersey tickets won $250,000 apiece for matching the first five, but not the Mega Ball. New York, Massachusetts, Kansas and Washington each produced a single ticket with that winning combination.

The jackpot - worth $91.8 million in cash - is the biggest since Powerball's $261 million annuity was hit June 2 by a blind trust in Ohio, which opted for $134.9 million in cash.

The last time Mega Millions was bigger was May 4, a California couple hit a $266 million jackpot.

Wednesday's Powerball drawing will be worth $35 million for the annuity, or $17.6 million cash. That's because nobody hit all the numbers drawn Saturday night: 4, 11, 19, 33 and 43, with a Powerball of 14.

New York, North Carolina and Tennessee each sold a ticket that won $200,000 for matching the first five numbers, but not the Powerball.

No ticket won $1 million for having those five plus the Power Play.

Both games are played in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and a few dozen other states.

For more lottery information, go to www.philly.com/philly/news/lottery, www.megamillions.com, or www.powerball.com.