As many Americans gear-up to try their chances at the Powerball Jackpot, Keiser University Flagship Campus Professor Dr. Mark Bush sat down with WPTV anchor John Favole to weigh in on the statistical probabilities of winning, and what one lucky winner could do with the stash. Bush shared:

  • The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292,201,338. One has a greater chance of:
    • Being attacked by a shark – 1 in 11,500,000 (Florida Museum of Natural History)
    • Being in a plane crash – 1 in 11 million
    • Being hit by lighting – 1 in 960,000 (National Weather Service) 
  • The odds changed in October when there was an increase of white balls by 10, 59 to 69 and a decrease of 9 for the red power ball, 35 to 26. The change caused the odds to move to the current level from 1 in 175,223,338.  There hasn’t been a winner since Nov 4th
  • The secret to winning is you must buy a ticket

The sale cut-off is 9:45 pm ET for this Wednesday’s drawing.

  • If you win, turn the ticket over and sign your name immediately, don’t tell anyone until you have collected the money. You have only 60 days in the state of Florida to claim the lump sum.    
  • The payout over 29 years is 450 million. The current lump sum payout is 275.4 million after taxes will be 166.4 million 
  • What can you buy with 166.4 million dollars’?
    • You can buy several privates islands ranging from just over 2 million to over 40 million dollars
    • You can buy 1,260 Tesla X automobiles
    • You take over 800 of your closest friends on a 101 night around the world cruise which leaves on January 24th from San Francisco. (Crystal Cruise, the ship Crystal Serenity- $200,000)
    • You could buy one Boeing 747 airplane. (153 million dollars)
    • Or you could feed 10,000 families of four for a year. (USDA liberal food plan $1,295 monthly)