Powerball Jackpot Soars To Record $800 Million
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -
UPDATE (11:20 a.m. on 1/8/16)
The Powerball has now reached a record of $800 million. The cash prize is now $496 million.
Previous story below:
Someone could win the largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history this Saturday. But what are your chances of winning, really?
The Powerball jackpot is at $700 million.
Millions of people in 44 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are taking a chance at how money, lots of money, could change their lives.
But, Dr. Antony Davies, a professor of statistics and economics at Duquesne University, says don't chance it.
He also says he wasn't surprised that no one won the jackpot even with millions of people playing.
"So this is the interesting thing, the numbers get so large, the people sort of lose sight of what they mean," says Dr. Davies. "The odds are one in 292 million, but if you figure 150 million people are playing the lottery, that's about a 50 percent chance that any one of them would hit the lottery. So it's a 50/50 chance, even with this many people playing."
Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter
Now, if you didn't quite get that scenario on your odds of winning, try the vending machine approach from the professor.
"If you walk by vending machines without thinking of it falling over and killing you, then you got no business with the lottery because it's more likely the vending machine would fall over and kill you than it is that you would win the lottery," he says.
Yeah, the odds are pretty steep, but when the opportunity presents itself, James Perkins says he takes a chance.
"You gotta play to win. You gotta buy that ticket," he says.
The professor sees it this way.
"It's an opportunity to dream," Davies says. "For 24 hours you can imagine what it would be like if you win that money."
The Powerball jackpot has gone untouched for 17 consecutive drawings, no one has hit since Nov. 4. Who knows, maybe Saturday will be your lucky day despite the odds.