If You Win Friday Night’s Mega Millions, Break Out The Tape Measure

Here’s a pro tip: Should you win Friday night’s Mega Millions jackpot, valued at an estimated $112 million, make sure all the stuff you buy will fit in your house(s).

We here at Lottery Geeks bring this up after the Swiss government spent $117 million on the Bombardier Global 7500, a “marvel of engineering,” according to LuxuryLaunches.com. It sleeps eight, has a shower, and is “the largest, roomiest, farthest flying and most expensive purpose-built business jet yet created by a general aviation manufacturer,” according to Aviation Week Network.

Sounds awesome, right? Yeah, well Swiss officials have poked a few self-inflicted holes in their purchase. For one thing, the country’s main airport in Bern does not have a runway long enough for the plane to take off with a full tank of gas. And — perhaps more embarrassingly — the hangar isn’t big enough to house the plane, forcing the government to store it some 30 miles away.

And now it’s grounded in Turkey after experiencing engine trouble.

All told, it would seem there wasn’t a lot of due diligence done by the Swiss on this one. Not a lot of precision, if you will. (You will.)

The lesson here? Always have a tape measure handy.

In the meantime, there was obviously no jackpot winner in Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing, with the winning numbers coming in at 6, 10, 13, 24, 63, and a gold Mega Ball of 2.

There were two Match 5 winners — both from New York. One player won $2 million with a 2x multiplier, the other winner was even more lucky, drawing a 4x multiplier and taking home $4 million.

Lottery Geeks estimates 5 million tickets were sold for Tuesday’s drawing.

Powerball the slightly bigger prize

Powerball’s Saturday jackpot is up to $131 million, with a $58.6 million cash value.

Nobody won the big prize Wednesday — numbers 20, 24, 42, 43, 49, and a red Powerball of 19 — but one ticket-buyer in Minnesota hit all five white balls for a $1 million score.

Lottery Geeks estimates 8.5 million tickets were sold for Wednesday’s drawing.

Tickets for Mega Millions cost $5, while Powerball tickets cost $2, with most states offering the multiplier option for Powerball — which impacts any prize won except the jackpot — for an additional $1. Mega Millions comes with an automatic multiplier for any prize except the jackpot.

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