$400 Million Mega Millions tomorrow...

[Guy Fawkes]

If you want to get Daddy a Christmas Present...

 

How about a ticket to the Mega millions tomorrow?

 

It turns out that I'd have to drive to Arizona if I wanted to get one!

[leeper]

No one won. You have another opportunity, the projected jackpot is $550 million for Tuesday. Fran Lebowitz once commented on her chances of winning the lottery as being something she felt would happen one day. Mind you, she never bought a ticket, but figured her chances of winning were essentially the same, either way.

[fedssocr1]

She's pretty much right about that. The odds of winning Megamillions is 1 in 259,000,000. They recently changed the game to make it even harder to win. You have to get 5 out or 75 numbers and then 1 out of 15 for the "mega" ball. But that means bigger jackpots, which means more players.

[down_to_business]

Putting it in perspective: Note that this was calculated before the change in number combinations making it even harder to win.

 

 

15 Things More Likely to Happen than Winning Mega Millions

Andrew Carter

By Andrew Carter

March 30th 20124:45 am

 

The odds of winning the Mega Millions are a long shot at 1 in 176 million. From landing dream jobs to unfortunate demises, The Daily Beast lists much more likely occurrences.

 

The Mega Millions jackpot has grown to $540 million, and people across America are dying to score the lucky ticket. According to lottery officials, the odds of winning the massive prize are about 1 in 176 million. Despite the excitement, those odds are not good. In fact, there are many other things—good and bad—that are much more likely to happen to a person than winning that money. From landing dream jobs to unfortunate demises, The Daily Beast lists much more likely occurrences.

 

Death by Vending Machine

 

Odds: 1 in 112 million

 

On average, two people in the U.S. are crushed to death underneath vending machines each year. Please snack responsibly.

 

Dying in an Airline-Related Terrorist Attack

 

Odds: 1 in 25 million

 

No one has died in an airplane-related terrorist attack since 9/11. The pat-downs of elderly people and toddlers are really paying off.

 

Having Identical Quadruplets

 

Odds: 1 in 15 million

 

Identical quadruplets would be adorable, but you wouldn’t be able to support them because you probably won’t win the lottery…

 

Becoming President

 

Odds: 1 in 10 million

 

Mitt Romney has seen these odds and he likes them.

 

Dying From Bee, Hornet, or Wasp Stings

 

Odds: 1 in 6.1 million

 

Who knew bees were so scary? Then again, bees may not be as much of an issue this year.

 

Dying From Being Left-Handed

 

Odds: 1 in 4.4 million

 

It’s a right-handed world. Apparently, a fair number of left-handed people die each year from using right-handed products incorrectly.

 

Becoming a Movie Star

 

Odds: 1 in 1,505,000

 

There’s more than one way to make money in this world, and movie stardom is a better bet than playing the lottery.

Dying in a Plane Crash

 

Odds: 1 in 1 million

 

If you are too scared to board a plane, why did you just buy a lottery ticket?

 

Death by Flesh-Eating Bacteria

 

Odds: 1 in 1 million

 

Not as rare as one would hope, but there are worse ways to die. Maybe.

 

Getting Struck by Lightning

 

Odds: 1 in 1 million.

 

A lightning strike is probably still preferable to flesh-eating bacteria.

 

Dying in a Bathtub

 

Odds: 1 in 840,000

 

These odds are not an excuse to stop bathing.

 

Dying in an On-the-Job Accident

 

Odds: 1 in 48,000

 

If this applies to you, you may want to take a risk and buy that lottery ticket.

 

Murder

 

Odds: 1 in 18,000

 

Hopefully it won’t be over a lottery ticket, but if it is, at least your murderer probably won’t win either!

Dying in an Asteroid Apocalypse

 

Odds: 1 in 12,500

 

The good news is that this will probably never happen. That is, until the year 2040, when it’s totally going to happen!

 

Dying in a Car Accident

 

Odds: 1 in 6,700

 

Good luck driving to the store to buy that lottery ticket.

[unsub2O17]

Putting it in perspective: Note that this was calculated before the change in number combinations making it even harder to win.

 

 

15 Things More Likely to Happen than Winning Mega Millions

Andrew Carter

By Andrew Carter

March 30th 20124:45 am

 

The odds of winning the Mega Millions are a long shot at 1 in 176 million. From landing dream jobs to unfortunate demises, The Daily Beast lists much more likely occurrences.

 

The Mega Millions jackpot has grown to $540 million, and people across America are dying to score the lucky ticket. According to lottery officials, the odds of winning the massive prize are about 1 in 176 million. Despite the excitement, those odds are not good. In fact, there are many other things—good and bad—that are much more likely to happen to a person than winning that money. From landing dream jobs to unfortunate demises, The Daily Beast lists much more likely occurrences.

 

Death by Vending Machine

 

Odds: 1 in 112 million

 

On average, two people in the U.S. are crushed to death underneath vending machines each year. Please snack responsibly.

 

Dying in an Airline-Related Terrorist Attack

 

Odds: 1 in 25 million

 

No one has died in an airplane-related terrorist attack since 9/11. The pat-downs of elderly people and toddlers are really paying off.

 

Having Identical Quadruplets

 

Odds: 1 in 15 million

 

Identical quadruplets would be adorable, but you wouldn’t be able to support them because you probably won’t win the lottery…

 

Becoming President

 

Odds: 1 in 10 million

 

Mitt Romney has seen these odds and he likes them.

 

Dying From Bee, Hornet, or Wasp Stings

 

Odds: 1 in 6.1 million

 

Who knew bees were so scary? Then again, bees may not be as much of an issue this year.

 

Dying From Being Left-Handed

 

Odds: 1 in 4.4 million

 

It’s a right-handed world. Apparently, a fair number of left-handed people die each year from using right-handed products incorrectly.

 

Becoming a Movie Star

 

Odds: 1 in 1,505,000

 

There’s more than one way to make money in this world, and movie stardom is a better bet than playing the lottery.

Dying in a Plane Crash

 

Odds: 1 in 1 million

 

If you are too scared to board a plane, why did you just buy a lottery ticket?

 

Death by Flesh-Eating Bacteria

 

Odds: 1 in 1 million

 

Not as rare as one would hope, but there are worse ways to die. Maybe.

 

Getting Struck by Lightning

 

Odds: 1 in 1 million.

 

A lightning strike is probably still preferable to flesh-eating bacteria.

 

Dying in a Bathtub

 

Odds: 1 in 840,000

 

These odds are not an excuse to stop bathing.

 

Dying in an On-the-Job Accident

 

Odds: 1 in 48,000

 

If this applies to you, you may want to take a risk and buy that lottery ticket.

 

Murder

 

Odds: 1 in 18,000

 

Hopefully it won’t be over a lottery ticket, but if it is, at least your murderer probably won’t win either!

Dying in an Asteroid Apocalypse

 

Odds: 1 in 12,500

 

The good news is that this will probably never happen. That is, until the year 2040, when it’s totally going to happen!

 

Dying in a Car Accident

 

Odds: 1 in 6,700

 

Good luck driving to the store to buy that lottery ticket.

 

Thank you, DTB. This really struck my funny bone. Perhaps, it's because I take the Fran Lebowitz approach to lotteries!

[rickvt]

Tuesday, 12/17 jackpot up to $586 million. Cash option $316

[leigh.bess.toad]

Buy me the winning ticket and I'll share... I Promise!

 

(2 hours and 15 minutes)

 

Tuesday, 12/17 jackpot up to $586 million. Cash option $316

 

Almost enough to retire on.

[BSR]

Daddy, you don't have to drive all the way to AZ (1.5 hrs). You can drive 35 minutes to State Line CA. The only problem is that once you get there, the line for tickets is 5 hrs long. A friend went yesterday, found out how long the wait would be, and just turned around back to Las Vegas, grumpy & ticketless.