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Odds of winning $1 billion Mega Millions and Powerball: 1 in 88 quadrillion
CBS "News" ^ | October 16, 2018 | By AIMEE PICCHI

Posted on 10/16/2018 10:04:35 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer

Some lucky lottery players will walk away with huge winnings as the combined Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots now approach almost $1 billion. But let's get real: Chances are, it's not going to be you.

The odds of winning the combined $999 million jackpots stands at 1 in 88 quadrillion -- that's 88 thousand trillion, or the numeral 1 followed by 15 zeros, according to the Allstate Data Science Team. The previous odds, when the jackpots were smaller, stood at roughly 1 in 75 quadrillion.

To be sure, lottery players will have slightly better odds of winning either one of the jackpots. The odds of scoring the $654 million Mega MIllions prize is 1 in 302 million, while the $345 million Powerball is sporting odds of 1 in 292 million, Allstate said.

To grasp how unlikely even those odds are, it's worth checking them against the probability of other rare events. The likelihood of being struck by lightning within one's lifetime is 1 in 3,000.

You're also much more likely to date a millionaire, which carries a likelihood of 1 in 215. Even better, Americans have fairly strong odds of becoming a millionaire through work and investment, with economists at the St. Louis Federal Reserve calculating that people younger than 40 years old have a 1 in 55 chance of achieving a 7-figure net worth.

(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: lottery
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To: VietVet876

It’s still false advertising, even if it’s legal.

The Jackpot should be stated as today’s lump sum value. Anything else is overstating the value.


81 posted on 10/16/2018 12:21:31 PM PDT by DannyTN
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

“Chances are, it’s not going to be you.”

I agree but somewhere out there, there are winners that beat the odds.

One thing is for sure though, if you don’t play the odds are 100% you will not win.


82 posted on 10/16/2018 12:29:54 PM PDT by greenishness
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

“Chances are, it’s not going to be you”

How about you shaddup.


83 posted on 10/16/2018 1:14:32 PM PDT by lowbridge
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To: z3n

Your math assumes someone has to win. That is not true.


84 posted on 10/16/2018 1:19:01 PM PDT by MortMan (The white board is a remarkable invention.)
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To: DCBryan1

“Next invest in tax free munis”

Next, adopt me and put me in the will.


85 posted on 10/16/2018 1:20:05 PM PDT by lowbridge
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Sort of agree with my wife, that playing the lottery is just another form of gambling and people are addicted to it.


86 posted on 10/16/2018 1:38:10 PM PDT by Sam Gamgee
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