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You're not going to win Mega Millions jackpot
“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.
On Twitter
"– Chance of having conjoined twins: 1 in 200,000. Chance you will win the Mega Millions jackpot: 1 in 175.7 million."
For people who are not going to have any more children, the chance they will win Mega Millions jackpot is much BIGGER.
The comparisons you put out there are flawed.
Of course for the top 5 to 10 CEOs this is just a few years pay.
I wonder what the odds are of ever being born? I'd guess they're astronomical too. The way I see it, we're all lottery winners already.
@Sherry Durk
Or in the words of another singer after tonights game. "Another-one-gone.. Another-one-gone..Anorher-one-bites-the-dust..hey!" 🙂
I generally hate lotteries, which I regard as a tax on the poor. However, it is entirely a voluntary tax. You don't have to buy the tickets. That said, the odds of a PARTIAL win are better than the entire pot. But it makes no sense to purchase more than say one or two tickets. That does people no particular harm. Buying more will NOT improve your odds for either a partial or total win.
And what are the odds of this?
http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2011/11/11/pulverized-to-near-power/
You're not just buying a chance to win millions of dollars, you're buying that entertainment value. There's value in the hope and excitement. Plus the proceeds go to various programs across the different states. At the end of the day, it's for a good cause. People need with the hate.
Chance you will submit an article to CNN without proofreading – 100%. Congratulations!!!
"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."
I love the quotes and odds given in this article. A really fun article and well written too. I am going to buy one ticket because even if I losei ts just nice to get in on the hype and also that money will help pay some taxes to the Nation.
Since we're throwing out quotes, I really can't resist.
"The odds might be a million to one, but there is always that One" -Dalton Trumbo (Johnny Got His Gun)
I will win. I know because I'm a Jedi.
Well I am a goddess therefore I outrank you. I is winner!
I hate to tell you this guys, but I won. I won this drawing tonight, then I invented time travel and came back in time to gloat to you all.
Nice conclusion to the fluff piece CNN has been running all week, encouraging people to buy lottery tickets.
I know I'll win. I just returned back from the future in a time machine I built using the funds that I am about to win. I have to win or otherwise I violate the grandfather paradox and you will all die.
I remember hearing a stat a few years ago that if you drive three miles to get your ticket, you're something like 17 times more likely to die in a car accident on the way there.
Dumb n dumber: "So you're telling me there's a chance....YESSSSS!"
Think of all the big gulps you could buy with those winnings!