Win Powerball, Call Chow Tai Fook, Win Valentine’s Day

We have you fellas covered here at Lottery Geeks. After all, Friday is Valentine’s Day, and if you’re anything like us, you’re probably going to screw up this forced day of love, er, the day we raise our wives or (or, I guess, “or/and”) girlfriends on a pedestal and show them how much we love thee. Them? Whatever.

But yes: It’s a minefield out there fellas, and that’s why today, we have a foolproof plan to get you back into your lover’s good graces after you mess this up this holiday with some gas station roses and the wrong chocolate.

It’s a simple two-step plan: Step one, win the Powerball jackpot on Saturday night, where the estimated haul is $172 million, which comes out to a $79.7 million cash prize. Step two: Contact Chow Tai Fook Enterprises in Hong Kong and tell them you’d like to spend your $79.7 million to purchase the Pink Star diamond, which they bought at auction in 2017 for $71.2 million. In this economy, your offer would seem like a win-win-win for everyone.

You win by being a Valentine’s Day hero, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises books a profit, and your wife or girlfriend gets a pretty stone. (Of course, if you’re in an “and” situation outlined in the first paragraph, you’re outta luck.)

At any rate, nobody won Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing — numbers 21, 32, 36, 45, 49, and a red Powerball of 18. But a Mississippi ticket-buyer hit all five white balls and purchased the Power Play multiplier, which came in at 2x for a $2 million haul.

Lottery Geeks estimates 9.3 million tickets were sold for Wednesday’s drawing.

Mega Valentine

Mega Millions’ Valentine’s Day jackpot is now up to $129 million (with a $58.6 cash value) after nobody won Tuesday night’s drawing.

Those numbers were 7, 30, 39, 41, 70, and a gold Mega Ball of 13. There were no Match 5 winners.

Lottery Geeks estimates 11.1 million tickets were sold for Tuesday’s drawing.

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