As people scramble to buy their tickets before the Mega Millions drawing Tuesday night, the chances of winning the jackpot continue to dwindle. The Mega Millions jackpot is up to $1.1 billion dollars—the sixth largest jackpot in US history. No one has won the Mega Millions jackpot since April 18.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot is 1 in 302.6 million, according to the Mega Millions site. While the chances of winning smaller prizes are significantly better, you are far more likely to get struck by lightning, be attacked by a shark or die in a plane crash than to win the $1.1 billion prize.
Nicholas Kapoor, a statistics professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, beat the odds and purchased a winning Powerball ticket in 2016.
“I always buy a Powerball ticket to show my students how improbable it is to win,” Kapoor told USA TODAY.
But the unexpected happened and Kapoor won $100,000. He assured his students that his case was a one-off “statistical anomaly.”
Hit the Jackpot?:Got the mega millions winning numbers? What to know if you win the $1.1 billion jackpot
Tips for picking numbers:Is there a strategy to winning Powerball and Mega Millions?
Here are five statistically improbable events that are more likely to occur than winning the Mega Millions jackpot:
Not all hope is lost! You have a better chance at winning the lottery than getting a perfect NCAA bracket — where the odds sit at 1 in 120.2 billion, according to the NCAA.
The Mega Millions drawings are held every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. ET. You pick five numbers between 1-70 for the white balls and select one number between 1-25 for the yellow Mega Ball. Match all five white balls in any order and pick the correct yellow ball, and you're a jackpot winner.
At $1.1 billion, the jackpot for the upcoming Mega Millions drawing would be the fourth-largest jackpot in the lottery's history. Here's where the other record-holders stand:
2025-04-20 10:352738 view
2025-04-20 10:071412 view
2025-04-20 10:01662 view
2025-04-20 09:43672 view
2025-04-20 08:322830 view
2025-04-20 08:132482 view
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. insisted he plans to return to live in New York, as the in
LONDON (AP) — Burberry, the London-based luxury goods fashion house, lost around 10% of its market v
Jan. 4-11, 2024This photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images in the Asia-Pacific