What would you do with a billion dollars? That’s what a lot of people are asking themselves with the current Mega Millions jackpot topping $1 billion. But what are the true odds of someone picking or getting the lucky number, and how does it compare to other unlikely chances?
is a mathematics professor at 鶹ƵUniversity’s College of Arts and Sciences. Though he doesn’t plan to buy a ticket himself, he does offer his perspective below about the odds of other people getting the big prize.
He is available for questions and interviews ahead of the next drawing on Friday.
Q: If someone is looking at the overall odds of winning this major prize, what are they?
A: The odds are one out of 302,575,350.
Q: What other astronomical odds can you compare a lottery win to?
A: From the web, I got that the odds of getting struck by lightning in a given year are about one out of one million. That is about 300 times more likely than winning the Mega Millions jackpot with one ticket. Of course, you can increase your odds by buying multiple tickets.
Here is another comparison: There are one billion different possible social security numbers. So, if you try to randomly guess someone’s social security number, your chances of getting it right with one guess are one out of one billion. That is about three times harder than winning the Mega Millions jackpot with one ticket.
Q: Do you have better chances of winning by getting a computer-picked number or choosing your own digits?
A: As all numbers are equally likely the chances of winning are the same whether you make the choice yourself or have the computer do it. There is one more thing to consider: you not only would like to win you would like to be the only winner so you do not have to split the jackpot. If you choose it yourself, unless you are careful, you might fall into some patterns and choose a number that other people have chosen. If the computer has a good random number generator, it would be less likely to choose the same number as someone else. On the other hand, if you do a study on which numbers people tend to choose, perhaps you could do better than the computer. Remember I am discussing trying to increase your chances of being the only winner if you win, not increasing your chances of winning.
To request interviews or get more information:
Daryl Lovell
Associate Director of Media Relations
Division of Communications
M315.380.0206
dalovell@syr.edu |
news.syr.edu |
鶹ƵUniversity
In a move that’s turning heads both in Japan and abroad, the Japanese government is reportedly cracking down on so-called “shiny” names, unconventional names often inspired by pop culture references like “Pikachu” or “Nike” given to newborns. While some see…
The smoke from more than 100 Canadian wildfires is reaching many regions within the U.S., including as far south as Georgia. Air quality is deteriorating in the Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast, prompting health advisories in many cities. In Canada,…
If you’re a reporter covering the U.S. Department of Defense’s acceptance of a luxury jet from Qatar, Alex Wagner, adjunct professor at 鶹ƵUniversity’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, is available for interviews. Please see his comments below….
As the Roman Catholic Church begins a new chapter under Pope Leo XIV, historians and scholars are helping the public interpret the significance of this moment. Among them is Margaret Susan Thompson, professor of history in the Maxwell School of…
President Trump recently signed an executive order focusing on educational opportunities surrounding artificial intelligence. Among other things, it establishes a task force to promote AI-related education and tools in the classroom. That is a major area of focus for Dr….
If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.
