It's taunting us.
One minute, it's come and get me.
Then it's catch me if you can.
Who does it think it is, the Gingerbread Man?
Or The Mask, who diabolically dared folks, "Somebody stop me"?
C'mon, folks, you're falling down on the job.
You're letting Powerball fly up, up and away.
Saturday's jackpot will be worth $275 million because not one of you had all of the numbers drawn last night.
The cash payout: an estimated $135 million.
Can't say Keystone Staters didn't give it a good shot, however.
Five tickets sold in Pennsylvania just missed. Had the first five numbers - 12, 19, 30, 34 and 36 - but not the Powerball of 8.
So close, but enough to buy lots of cigars.
They each won $200,000 - about 1/500th of the jackpot.
(Yes, Powerball skimps on secondary prizes to feed the monster.)
Eleven other tickets also just missed, three from Indiana, two from Missouri, and one apiece from Louisiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina and West Virginia.
Delaware got left in the dust.
Powerball is played in 29 states and the District of Columbia.
The other major multistate lottery, Mega Millions - played in New Jersey and 11 other states - has a jackpot of $59 million on Friday.
No one hit all the numbers drawn Tuesday. They were 4, 13, 35, 41 and 47 with a Mega Ball of 44.
For information on all the area lotteries, go to http://www.philly.com/philly/news/lottery.
Official sites: www.powerball.com and www.megamillions.com.