May the “Mega” Odds Be Ever In Your Favor! What Are the Odds?

Whether it's Lloyd Christmas trying to catch Mary's eye in ‘Dumb and Dumber,' or Jane Doe in west O shelling out a few bucks for Mega Million lottery tickets, nothing is impossible. But let's get real: The odds of hitting all five numbers for the Mega Millions are not good.  We'd probably have better odds of seeing Yellowstone erupt!

As in 1 in 175,711,536.  By comparison, you have a better chance of:

• Being born on leap day: 1 in 1,500
• Being struck by lightning in an 80-year lifetime: 1 in 10,000
• Hitting a hole in one (an average golfer): 1 in 12,000
• Dying after being bitten or struck by an alligator: 1 in 104,600
• Being struck by lightning in a given year: 1 in 1,000,000
• Giving birth on Leap Day, having yourself been born on an earlier Feb. 29: 1 in 2,000,000
• Dying in an airline crash*: 1 in 29,400,000
• Hitting two holes in one in the same round (a good golfer): 1 in 67,000,000
• Dying in a vending machine accident: 1 in 112,000,000

*On a top-30 carrier in safety records