As the Mega Millions jackpot climbs to a record-breaking 500 million dollars, Americans all over the country are rushing out to buy their tickets for a chance to make it big. But do people really think they have a shot at winning?
“Winning the lottery represents the most practical way [for me] to accumulate several hundred thousand dollars.”
Believe it or not, 21% of Americans actually believe the above statement. But winning the lottery is nearly impossible! Who are the biggest suckers? According to a report out of Bloomberg, the “biggest suckers” in America reside in Georgia, with residents spending $3.4 billion on lottery tickets over the past year. That’s an average of $470.73 per adult!
That’s a full 1% of their annual income, despite it’s low winning payouts – just 63%. Massachusetts spends most of their personal income on lottery tickets – 1.3% to be exact; New York is No. 3 for lottery-ticket buying. California and Delaware rank among the least generous states for payouts. The average payout is about 60% of the revenue dollars collected. Just a few statistics for you to consider before you go buying your tickets.
Now, let’s compare the odds of taking home one of those big jackpots to the odds of some other activities, according to DailyFinance:
Getting pregnant from a one-night stand: 1 in 20
Getting struck by lightning: 1 in 10,000
Dying in an airplane crash: 1 in 355,318
Being dealt a royal flush in a given hand of poker: 1 in 655,750
Dying from a flesh-eating bacteria: 1 in 1 million.
Winning the California Super Lotto Jackpot: 1 in 18 million.
But someone has to win…right?
