Jackpot

Luck was on Grantland Jackson's side. When the 63-year-old Pigtown resident woke up Wednesday and heard the Mega Millions prize had been bumped up to $500 million, he knew he'd be heading around the corner to the Shop n Go food store on Washington Boulevard to buy a few tickets. What he didn't know was he was already a winner — $500 in the scratch-off lottery ticket he'd purchased the day before. Standing outside the corner grocery, he beamed about being $500 richer, though he joked that he'd have to share it with "the warden," his wife.

The Mega Millions jackpot has risen to $241 million after no one won Friday night's drawing. Carole Everett, director of communications for the Maryland State Lottery, said several people in California, New York in Texas won the second tier prize of $250,000. Last night's numbers were 28-29-43-51-53 with mega ball of 7. The next drawing will be Tuesday. In addition to the jackpot, players can win prizes between $2 and $250,000, and $1 million on special bonuses. Tickets are $1 and $2 for the Megaplier option.

Charrlene Cebrianwarned her boss at Steve's Lunch in Cross Street Market on Wednesday that she might not come into work for her next shift. The Powerball player was just one of millions who hoped the 11 p.m. drawing would bring them the $588 million jackpot. Though the odds of winning were astronomical - one in more than 175 million - the money convinced many to join in. The hefty jackpot jumped almost $200 million Wednesday with the increase in sales as more players bought the small sheets of paper bearing what they hoped would be the winning numbers, which turned out to be 05 16 22 23 29 with a Powerball of 06. Winning tickets were purchased in Arizona and Missouri, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association.

Even a lottery official, a woman who spends her days dealing in hundreds, thousands and, yes, millions, was having a hard time Thursday getting her head around this monstrous number: $540 million. "It's hard to even fathom this kind of money," said Maryland Lottery spokeswoman Carole Everett as the jackpot for Friday's Mega Millions drawing, already high, soared yet higher, breaking records. "It's insane. It's all that anyone is talking about. Everywhere," she says. It's true.

Lottery officials Thursday raised the record-setting Mega Millions jackpot even higher — to $540 million. "It's breaking the record that already broke records," said Carole Everett, communications director for the Maryland State Lottery. Representatives from 42 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands decided to raise the jackpot from its previous high of $500 million during a conference call this morning, Everett said. "Everybody's excited," she said. "It's all people are talking about.

The jackpot in tomorrow's drawing of the semi-weekly Maryland Lotto game has been increased to $5 million after Wednesday night's drawing failed to produce a winner.The numbers drawn Wednesday night were 15, 31, 35, 38, 40, 41.Lottery spokeswoman Theresa Gutierrez said 36 people correctly matched five of the six numbers and are to collect $922 each.Another 1,418 bettors matched four of the six numbers drawn Wednesday. Each of their tickets is worth $40.Lotto sales for the week totaled $829,667.

If Davon Johnson of West Baltimore hits Saturday's $325 million Powerball jackpot, he wouldn't be the sort of tycoon who blends into the crowd. He'd hire a pair of bodyguards (California-based Platinum Protection Group charges $35 an hour for one unarmed guard), move straight to Beverly Hills (where the average house costs $1 million) and throw down cash for a jet (a 43-year-old Gulfstream at Aircraft Shopper Online can be had for $585,000, and prices go up from there). In fact, the more Johnson and his half brothers, Frank White and Meech Tucker, talked about all the ways they'd spend the cash, the more tickets Johnson bought.

A Mount Airy woman won a $26 million Mega Millions jackpot this week, state lottery officials announced, and the grandmother of two now plans to buy her first home - a beach house. Maryland Lottery officials said the 48-year-old woman wished to remain anonymous. She is the first to win a Mega Millions jackpot in nearly a year, since three Maryland public school employees split the $218.6 million portion of a record-breaking $656 million jackpot. According to the state lottery, the woman's fiancee jokingly told her as they went to bed Tuesday night that they would wake up millionaires.

No one has won the Powerball jackpot since February so there is a roll over jackpot of $320 million up for grabs. The unofficial winning numbers drawn Saturday night were 17, 29, 31, 52 and 53. The Powerball was 31. Drawing results are pending. Meanwhile a winning ticket for last weekend's draw worth $1 million that was sold at the Thunderhead Bowl and Grill in Taneytown is still floating around. Lottery officials say winners have 182 days to come forward to claim their prize. Another $1 million ticket was sold last week at a Dundalk Giant and has since been turned in. iduncan@baltsun.com twitter.com/iduncan