AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) — Being struck by lightning, being killed by a shark — what do they have in common?
They’re much more likely to happen than you winning the Mega Millions jackpot.
No one claimed the top prize after Tuesday night’s drawing. Since then, the jackpot has grown to a cool $1.1 billion, with a cash option of $648.2 million. The next drawing is Friday night.
While we can all ponder what we would do with that kind of money, we may all be getting a reality check instead of a money check.
After all, the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350 or 0.00000033%.
Here are some things that are more likely to happen:
But 1 in 302 million is still a chance! In fact, you’re much more likely to win than being hit by a meteorite (thankfully!).
How’s this for a mind-blowing fact: You are 30.4 billion times as likely to win the Mega Millions than you are to get a perfect NCAA bracket, if you just guess or flip a coin to determine your teams. That’s right, billion with a “B.”
Even if you know a little about basketball and are more strategic in choosing your bracket, you’re still 397 times as likely to win the Mega Millions jackpot.
Friday’s jackpot of $1.1 billion is the second largest in history. It’s only the third time that the billion-dollar mark has been hit.
“We look with anticipation on the growing jackpot,” said Pat McDonald, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium. “Seeing the jackpot build over a period of months and reaching the billion-dollar mark is truly breathtaking. We encourage customers to keep play in balance and enjoy the ride. Someone is going to win.”
