Powerball jackpot hits $240 million

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But two South Carolina residents nearly won the whole thing over the weekend, both coming one number away from taking the jackpot in Saturday night's drawing.

While they missed the granddaddy of prizes, they matched enough numbers to claim thousands of dollars on Monday, said Tara Robertson, a spokeswoman for the state lottery.

A $100,000 winner, who wished to remain unidentified, missed the Powerball but hit five other numbers, Robertson said. The winner bought the ticket at a convenience store in Landrum, she said.

James Davis of Conway also matched five numbers but failed to predict the Powerball, Robertson said. Davis, a middle school teacher, won $200,000 because he paid an extra $1 for his ticket in a PowerPlay, guaranteeing that any non-jackpot winnings would be doubled, she said.

Both picked up their checks in Columbia on Monday, Robertson said.

The Landrum winner actually received $66,000, while Davis took home, $138,000.

State taxes take a seven percent bite out of winnings, and federal taxes claim 27 percent, Robertson said.

The winning numbers were on the white balls: 5-17-25-37-49.

The next drawing will be 11 p.m. Wednesday.

Paul Alongi can be reached at 298-4746.