If you caught this weekend’s Sunday Times you will know all about the private jet that Julius Malema flies around in. You know – the jet that belongs to his buddy, who gets tenders from Jules. Fraud and corruption aside, I just wanted to chat about the jet itself. People seem to get very excited about any private jet that comes along – when there is very often nothing to make a fuss about. ESPECIALLY in this case, when you’re dealing with a Cessna Citation 500.

Sunday Times confirmed the plane was worth R18 million, which is somewhat spicy, given that most of the Cessna Citation 500s out there were made in the 1970s (production ran from 1971 to 1985) and are sold second-hand for between $500,000 and $800,000 (R5.7 Million). So that’s all you’re really dealing with – if you wanted to get one – five or six bar. There are some good cars that sell for a similar price.

Now when we discuss winning “the lottery,” private jets and private islands inevitably come up. And when we’re talking about the local South African lottery (upcoming jackpot is R5 million), I wonder how many people realise that the jackpot is hardly in the league of our dreams. So, if you’re lucky, you can buy a second hand jet like the one Juju flies in. And that’s before you have to buy petrol and pay for a pilot. And, while we’re at it, what are you actually getting? Check out these pics of the same model plane:

Seriously, what is that? What am I supposed to do with that?

On top of it, this thing is only good for trips around South Africa. It has a maximum range of 2,250km so you can go from Cape Town to Johannesburg and back. Don’t expect to jet off to New York at the drop of a hat – unless you plan on organising some Top-Gun-style mid-air refueling vibes. Even to Paris, this thing would have to be re-fueled four times. Not really the vibe we’re after, I’m sure you will agree.

And that, my friends, is why we play the overseas lotteries. The most recent jackpot win was R1.8 billion – won by a charming chubby couple from Scotland. Now that’s the kind of money we need to get proper jets. Jets that can take us to New York in one go. Jets that we can sleep in. Like the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) which, second hand, is around $68 million. In Rands that is about R500 million. Which is a very realistic proposition if you win the likes of the Euromillions or US Powerball lotteries when they’ve rolled over a few times..

So if you want to play with Malema and their little girl jets, then keep playing the local lottery.

But if you want really useful jets – the jets that we’re really dreaming about – then you need to enter the overseas lotteries.

We do – every week.

Today’s Euromillions lottery jackpot, for example, is R756 million.

And you can buy your tickets safely and securely online at www.2oceansvibelottos.com

The chances of winning are small. But they’re even smaller without a ticket 😉