The old saying goes, "Somebody has to win. It might as well be you." But if you were the owner of one of the over 440 million tickets that didn't win the Powerball grand prize this weekend, you may be coming to understand how untrue that saying is.
The truth is, no one has to win. Despite how tempting the $1.5 billion jackpot is, the odds of winning the Powerball are still 1-to-292.2 million. Statistically speaking, if over 292.2 million tickets are sold, someone will most likely pick the winning numbers. However, two people could win the prize just as easily, and it's almost just as likely that no one will win — again. The Powerball jackpot has already rolled 19 times since Nov. 7, 2015 because no one won the prize.
Why then do we keep buying lottery tickets? People tend to be overly optimistic about the possibility of good things happening to them and inversely overly pessimistic about the possibility of bad things happening to them.
Here’s a list of things that are more likely to happen to you than winning the Powerball jackpot listed from least likely to most likely. And you don’t even have to buy a ticket to be eligible for any of these.
- Dying in a plane crash: 1-to-11 million
- Dying from a shark attack: 1-to-3.7 million
- Dying from the flu: 1-to-600,000
- Dying from a lightning strike: 1-to-164,968
- Dying from an accidental gunshot: 1-to-6,699
- Dying in a bicycle accident: 1-to-4,147
- Dying from falling on stairs or step: 1-to-1,884
- Dying in a motorcycle accident: 1-to-807
- Dying in a car crash: 1-to-112
- Dying from heart disease: 1-to-7
- Dying: 1-to-1
Still want to place your bet? Give it a shot without putting your $2 in. The Los Angeles Times has put together a Powerball simulator that demonstrates just how hard it is to hit that jackpot.
