Win Powerball And Mega Millions, Treat America To Some Sweet Pole

Wednesday is National Corn on the Cob Day, which brings us to our favorite parlor game here at Lottery Geeks: How much money must you spend to get everyone in America (fill in the blank)?

Today, our “blank” is corn on the cob.

Prices vary, of course, depending on the season and where you live, but for our purposes, we’re going to put it at 40 cents an ear. (We’re not completely pulling that number out of thin air, for the record. We asked the wife. And Google.)

Which means for about $136 million, you — yes, you, cheapskate — can buy every man, woman, and child their own corn on the cob to celebrate National Corn on the Cob Day.

Depending on where you live, you might call corn on the cob by another name, such as pole corn, cornstick, sweet pole, butter-pop, sweet corn, or long maize. (Pole corn. Heh-heh.)

And guess what? If you happen to win both Mega Millions on Tuesday night and Powerball on Wednesday night, the combined cash value is $138 million. Which means you can buy everyone in America some sweet pole and still have $2 million left over.

So whatcha waiting for?

The lotteries

At any rate, nobody won last Friday’s Mega Millions drawing — numbers 16, 40, 54, 56, 57, and a gold Mega Ball of 3.

As a result, Tuesday’s jackpot is set at an estimated $243 million. This will be the 15th drawing since the last winner was crowned.

Lottery Geeks estimates 6.4 million tickets were sold for Friday’s drawing.

Powerball also came up empty Monday night, with nobody hitting the jackpot, pushing Wednesday’s to $65 million.

The numbers there were 30, 33, 40, 43, 52, and a red Powerball of 25. One ticket-buyer in California matched all five white balls for a $1 million prize.

Lottery Geeks estimates 6.1 million tickets were sold for Monday’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