You’re More Likely to Be Eaten by a Shark Than Win Powerball

Just how lucky are you, anyway? When it comes to Powerball, most of us are not.

 Stunning odds of other bizarre events happening to you

 Bookies.com is a national resource that provides up-to-date and reliable news and information to assist people in placing legal bets, with what they call the best sports betting operators.

They recently crunched the stats, in an attempt to show just how 'challenging' the odds could be to win the Powerball Lottery (the big one).

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The current jackpot this week climbed to $1.3 billion dollars, which they say is the fifth-highest in the lottery's history.

What are the odds of winning Powerball? 1 in 292,201,338...that's 292 million plus. By comparison, you have a better chance of these events happening in your lifetime (by way of Bookies.com):

• "Struck by lightning twice: 1 in 19 million
• Becoming President (US): 1 in 32.6 million
• Eaten by a shark: 1 in 264 million"

They also broke down what the cost would be to play every possible ticket configuration (numbers) and how much you actually get after taxes.

That doesn't stop people from wanting to play, for a chance at the Brass Ring.  But when your odds are better to be hit by lightning TWICE or eaten by a shark, you realize perhaps the lottery is  not a reliable retirement plan.  But, even if someone only hits enough numbers to win a lower prize, it is still often worth it.