Powerball, Mega Millions tickets are great investments. So are these 8 other sure bets.

There's a lot of money on the line, and you might be letting it slip through your fingers. 

The Mega Millions jackpot for Friday's drawing had no winner, so it's up to an estimated $470 million, one of the top 10 highest of all time. And the Powerball jackpot is up to $253 million for Saturday's drawing. I'm no mathematician, but that basically means you have twice as much chance of winning a huge jackpot. 

Vernon Kirk, director of the Delaware Lottery, offered encouraging remarks.

"We've had a $1 million winner for both Powerball and Mega Millions in Delaware this year so far. It'd be great to see another big winner from Delaware."

Sure would! But on the off chance your ticket isn't the big winner, here are some other investments you should consider that may have an even better chance of paying off. 

1. Jam a bottle full of the highest-denomination bills you can find and throw it in the ocean, with a note instructing the finder to immediately invest it in whichever company owns AOL at the time, wait 20 years, then mail you the proceeds. 

2. It's a great time to buy office desk phones low. Hang onto them and sell them high when everyone comes to their senses and abandons cellphones and video-conferencing. 

3. Check your email in the hopes that you may aid a Nigerian prince in distress. Let your friends laugh. They'll feel pretty dumb when one of them turns out to be an actual prince. 

4. Bury your money in the yard. Once massive deflation kicks in, you'll be a millionaire. 

5. Buy Orioles season tickets. When they make a World Series run next year, you'll be able to scalp them for a fortune. 

6. While we're on the sports theme, bet on Duke to win a national championship. In football. One line earlier this summer had the odds at +100,000, and it will just going to get better as the season rolls along, so this will clearly pay off handsomely if it happens. 

7. Open a coffee shop. 

8. Put your kids through journalism school, and wait for the money to roll in. 

Email Andrew Sharp at asharp@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @buckeye_201. 

MORE LOTTERY COVERAGE:

Mega Millions jackpot gets even bigger: Estimated $470 million for next drawing

$2 million in Delaware Lottery prizes goes unclaimed every year

Mega Millions, Powerball jackpots together worth more than $630 million