Photographer: Florida Lottery
Copyright: CNN
Posted: 11/28/2012
(CNN) - Last March, when the people of America were drooling at the thought of winning a record $656 million Mega Millions jackpot, we poured an icy bucket of mathematical reality over your head: You weren't going to win.
And you didn't. Three winning tickets were sold, but you weren't involved. It was never going to happen. As we wrote then, you stood a better chance at hitting two consecutive holes in one than winning that jackpot.
Now, with a record $550 million Powerball jackpot up for grabs Wednesday, we figured it was a great time to, once again, dash your dreams. We know, we know -- someone will win at least a share of the prize, if not Wednesday, then in some subsequent drawing. But it won't be you.
RELATED | The biggest lottery winners in Kansas and Missouri http://bit.ly/SdGMCJ
The chance of a ticket winning a Powerball jackpot is 1 in 175,223,510 (slightly better than the chance of winning a Mega Millions jackpot, which is 1 in 175,711,536). Here are a few unlikely scenarios that, we're sorry to say, are much more likely than you taking home this jackpot.
From the Harvard School of Public Health:
-- Dying from a bee sting: 1 in 6.1 million.
-- Dying from a lightning strike: 1 in 3 million.
From U.S. Hole in One, which insures golf prizes for holes in one:
-- An amateur golfer making a hole in one on a par-3 hole: 1 in 12,500.
-- A golfer hitting a hole in one on consecutive par-3 holes: 1 in about 156 million.
From a 2011 State Farm study on collisions between vehicles and deer:
-- Hitting a deer with a vehicle in Hawaii, the state where State Farm says deer-vehicle collisions are least likely: 1 in 6,267.
From the National Weather Service:
-- Being struck by lightning over an 80-year lifetime: 1 in 10,000.
From the Florida Museum of Natural History, based on U.S. beach injury statistics:
-- Drowning and other beach-related fatalities: 1 in 2 million.
-- Being attacked by a shark: 1 in 11.5 million.
What do you think about your chances of winning on Wednesday? Weigh in on Twitter using #whataretheodds.
Copyright CNN
Kansas City Jobs
Looking for a new career? New job advice? We are here to help. Click here to see the latest Kansas City jobs.
Top Money Headlines
Some public university students in Kansas would see tuition increase by almost 9 percent this fall under proposals being considered by the state Board of Regents.