Even If You Win Powerball, You’ll Never Sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Attention potential Powerball winners: Don’t bother offering your winnings to Toronto Blue Jays superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for him to play for your baseball team (you do have a baseball team, yes?) over the next 14 or so years.

Why? Because it’s been reported Guerrero turned down a near-$500 million contract extension offer from the Jays, and is reportedly seeking a deal worth north of $600 million.

Alas, as Wednesday’s Powerball drawing is only for an estimated $484 million, winning it and trying to sign ol’ Vlad to your team would be a fruitless endeavor.

Instead, you’ll have to find another superstar. Or, of course, you could just keep the money, buy an island or something, and live out your days in peace and harmony. Who needs the headache of a baseball team anyway?

Back to the topic at hand: Wednesday’s drawing, which will be the 29th since the last time a jackpot winner was crowned, is worth the aforementioned $484 million and has a cash value of $228.1 million, which, for those keeping score at home, was enough for hoopster Giannis Antetokounmpo when he signed his five-year deal back in 2020.

Clearly, nobody won Monday night’s Powerball lotto — numbers 6, 23, 35, 36, and 47 with a red Powerball of 12 — though two ticket buyers (one in Florida, the other in New Jersey) hit all five white balls for million-dollar prizes.

Lottery Geeks estimates about 12.9 million tickets were sold for Monday’s drawing.

Don’t you forget about Mega Millions

The subhead above calls to mind the Simple Minds song “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” and while there is no direct tie to the band, the song, or the fact that the Mega Millions jackpot is up to an estimated $344 million after nobody won last Friday’s drawing, well, that’s not stopping us from humming the tune.

And now, you can as well. Have a pleasant day. 

Oh, yeah: Mega Millions. The cash value is at $161.5 million for Tuesday night, and last Friday’s drawing — numbers were 15, 22, 31, 52, 57, and a gold Mega Ball of 2 — yielded a single Match 5 winner in Indiana.

Lottery Geeks estimates 13.7 million tickets were sold for Friday’s drawing.

Also worth noting: There are but four drawings, including Tuesday night’s, before Mega Millions gets even more mega-ier, as ticket prices will rise to $5 starting with the April 8 edition.

For now, at least, tickets for either lottery cost $2, with most states offering the multiplier option — which impacts any prize won except the jackpot — for an additional $1.

Both Powerball and Mega Millions are legal in all states except Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah. Tickets for both draw games are also sold in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In Puerto Rico, customers can buy tickets for Powerball, but not for Mega Millions.

All-time biggest jackpots

Here is a list of the all-time top 10 U.S. lottery jackpots:

1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $1.76 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
3. $1.6 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
4. $1.59 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
5. $1.54 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
6. $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
7. $1.34 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
8. $1.33 billion, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
9. $1.22 billion, Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024, won in California
10. $1.13 billion, Mega Millions, March 26, 2024, won in New Jersey

And here’s the all-time top 10 by lump-sum cash value:

1. $997.6 million, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $983.5 million, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
3. $877.8 million, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
4. $794.2 million, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
5. $780.5 million, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
6. $776.6 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021, won in Michigan
7. $774.1 million, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
8. $723.5 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
9. $621 million, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
10. $571.9 million, Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024, won in California