“Never tell me the odds.”
- Han Solo in "The Empire Strikes Back"
Look. We know that you're aware the odds of winning Friday night’s record-breaking $640 million Mega Millions jackpot, or any Mega Millions jackpot, are astronomical.
We also know that for the people who win it, the odds matter not one bit. Someone is going to win at least a share of the prize - if not Friday, then in some subsequent drawing. But since we’re covering the historic jackpot and showing people in long lines giddily talking about how many cars or yachts or Dippin' Dots they’d buy if they win, we feel compelled to remind you:
It’s not going to be you.
The odds of a ticket winning a Mega Millions jackpot is 175,711,536 to 1. As Han Solo’s talkative robotic friend would tell you, you have a much, much better chance (1 in 3,720!) of navigating an asteroid field successfully. We didn’t exactly vet that, but you know you’d smash your ship into the rocks. And who are we to question protocol droids fluent in more than 6 million forms of communication?
To hammer home the point, here are a few other unlikely scenarios that, we’re sorry to say, are far more likely than you taking home a jackpot.
From the Harvard School of Public Health:
- Chances of dying from a bee sting: 1 in 6.1 million. Chance you will win the Mega Millions jackpot: 1 in 175.7 million.
- Chance you will be die from being struck by lightning: 1 in 3 million. Chance you will win the Mega Millions jackpot: 1 in 175.7 million.
From the University of Maryland Medical Center:
- Chance of having conjoined twins: 1 in 200,000. Chance you will win the Mega Millions jackpot: 1 in 175.7 million.
From U.S. Hole in One, which insures golf prizes for holes in one:
- The chance of an amateur golfer making a hole in one on a par-3 hole is about 1 in 12,500. Chance you will win the Mega Millions jackpot: 1 in 175.7 million.
- The chance of a golfer hitting a hole in one on consecutive par-3 holes: 1 in about 156 million. Chance you will win the Mega Millions jackpot: 1 in 175.7 million.
From a 2011 State Farm study on collisions between vehicles and deer:
- The chance of hitting a deer with a vehicle in Hawaii, the state where State Farm says deer-vehicle collisions are least likely, is 1 in 6,267. Chance you will win the Mega Millions jackpot: 1 in 175.7 million.
From the National Weather Service:
- The chance of being struck by lightning over an 80-year lifetime: 1 in 10,000. Chance you will win the Mega Millions jackpot: 1 in 175.7 million.
From the Florida Museum of Natural History, based on U.S. beach injury statistics in 2000:
- Chance of drowning and other beach-related fatalites: 1 in 2 million. Chance you will win the Mega Millions jackpot: 1 in 175.7 million.
- Chance of being attacked by a shark: 1 in 11.5 million. Chance you will win the Mega Millions jackpot: 1 in 175.7 million.
What are the odds you will win? Weigh in below, or on Twitter using #whataretheodds.
How did a deer get to Hawaii?
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Easy article to write considering everyone but 1 potential person reading will lose. You write it, look like a genius! So what if you are wrong with the one person who ACTUALLY wins. Economy sucks, let people dream CNN.
Point is....there is a chance. Someone will win, so to say that it won't be "you" is dumb. Because the person that does win, will be, "you"! Pointless article...
I have been indoctrinated to believe that the possible and the highly probable have a near equal chance of being true. Therefore, I will purchase tickets!
Fact of the matter is someone's gonna win, I'm just throwing my name in the bag
> Fact of the matter is someone's gonna win
Not necessarily: that is why it keeps on growing.
Odds of me winning, I am going to win even money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The chances of a pregnant woman having quintuplets is 1 in 65.6 million. The chance you will win the Mega Millions jackpo is 1 in 175.7 million.
This article doesn't make sense. Since someone has to win eventually that means one of us will be the winners. Duh! You of course have to play to have a chance at winning, but no matter what the odds are someone in this country that buys a ticket is going to be the winner. That might not be me, please God let it be me, or any of you that post to this article, but that 1 person does exist that's going to win. Since it's random numbers selected, anyone holding a ticket can win tonight.
How hard is it to figure out odds? Statistically, it is possible that nobody will ever win. Unlikely, but it IS possible.
Why does CNN say that this is "The Largest in the World"? A few months ago, Spain's "El Gordo" paid about TWICE (some $900 million).
you sure it wasn't pesos?
yea but doesn't hurt to spend a buck JUST IN CASE!!!
Rich people invest, and poor people buy lottery tickets.
Yes... but a very small percentage of the people who buy lottery tickets become rich people... then they invest (most of the time, not wisely, but...)
I won
If the article says that we won't win the lotto due to the astronomical odds, then who will? gotta be someone right?
Yes, ME. he he
I hope you win (yes, you who just read this).
Well that's not very encouraging!!!
This is no different than playing poker. And the saying in poker is "If you have a chip and a chair you have a chance."