The U.S. Mega Millions lottery jackpot swelled to a record US$1.6 billion after the 25 drawings held since the end of July including the latest on Oct. 19 failed to yield a winner.
That ties it for the largest lottery grand prize the world has ever seen. The jackpot for the rival Powerball game also reached $1.6 billion in 2016.
The odds of winning are very small, or about 1 in 303 million. You are about 400 times more likely to be hit by lightning. If every adult in the U.S. purchased just one ticket, each with a different number, there would still be a good chance about 7 percent that no winner emerges at a given drawing and the pot would grow even larger.
But once a winner is declared, a more interesting question arises: W…
Read the full article at: http://theconversation.com/how-winning-1-6-billion-in-mega-millions-could-still-lead-to-bankruptcy-105275