Face it…You’re not gonna hit the Jackpot!
Thoughts on the Mega Millions & Powerball drawings
Once again, Americans find themselves tempted by the prospect of winning a life-changing amount of money. The Mega Millions & Powerball jackpots, as of October 22nd, stand at $1.6 billion, & $620 million, respectively.
Whether it is in the Washington Post, wherein we read that the Mega Millions jackpot enters ‘uncharted territory’ at record $1.6 billion, or CNN giving advice on how to get Ready to be a Powerball or Mega Millions winner, the news and watercoolers are abuzz with very little other than the lottery.
However, before you get caught-up in your champagne wishes & caviar dreams, it might be helpful to pause, for a moment, and consider a few things.
Thing One: You are NOT going to win.
The reported odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot is 1 in 292,201,338. To put these odds into perspective, let’s look at some other odds.
In 2014, Dr. Clark Chapman, a Senior Scientist at the Department of Space Studies, at the Southwest Research Institute, in Boulder, Colorado, listed the lifetime odds of dying from various causes.
| Cause of Death | Odds |
|---|---|
| Motor Vehicle Accident | 1 in 90 |
| Murder | 1 in 185 |
| Fire | 1 in 250 |
| Firearms Accident | 1 in 2,500 |
| Flood | 1 in 27,000 |
| Airplane Crash | 1 in 30,000 |
| Tornado | 1 in 60,000 |
| Lightning | 1 in 135,000 |
| Asteroid/Meteor Impact | 1 in 1,600,000 |
| Shark Attack | 1 in 8,000,000 |
| Lottery Jackpot | Odds |
|---|---|
| Powerball | 1 in 292,201,338 |
| Mega Millions | 1 in 302,575,350 |
You are reading that correctly, a rocket scientist has estimated that it is more likely that you will die by meteor strike than win the Mega Millions or Powerball jackpot.
Thing Two: No one is going to get $1.6 billion (or $620 million.)
We all know that whenever winners are found, they will be subject to income tax. (A LOT of income tax.) The amount you pay varies, but, even so, the bite the U.S. Government takes, is a BIG one:
In other words, if you are the ONLY winner of the $1.6 Billion jackpot, your after-tax take-home can be as little as $489.8 Million. Let's face it, you are not going to be the ONLY winner, so that $1.6 Billion is even smaller.
Thing Three: This all seems quite distracting.
Perhaps you remember the last time the country was obsessed with the lottery.
In January 2016, FoxNews told people to Rush to get tickets for $1.5 billion Powerball drawing, and NBCNews advised people on Financial Planning and the Powerball. That sounds awfully like today’s headlines; however, I was referring to something older.
In the 2nd Century A.D., Roman poet Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis writes, in Satires Book IV, Satire X:
. . . Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions - everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.
The term bread and circuses refers to the perceived apathy of the once great Roman populace. A people known for their civic involvement suddenly cared only for the grain dole & costly Ludi, or circus games, used by politicians to distract the people from the serious issues of the day.
Think of it as a once great Republic distracted from their responsibility to themselves and the future of their Nation by petty entertainments.
Sound familiar?
If the opportunity to win a combined $2 Billion doesn’t distract people from the issues of the day, what possibly could?