In actual fact, while your chances of winning the lottery anywhere are decidedly slim, the sheer size of the U.S. population and popularity of the game means that American participants must climb an even steeper mountain towards any potential windfall. This was evident for all to see in the formative part of this year, as the nation's Mega Millions jackpot soared to an unprecedented $656 million after being unclaimed for several weeks. When the first winner was announced at the end of March, an estimated 1.5 billion tickets had been sold nationwide.
Now even though this equated to several tickets being purchased per U.S. resident, the odds of each participant winning stood at approximately 1 in 176,000,000. This means that that statistically there was a greater likelihood of being struck by lightning or becoming a billionaire than there was of claiming the Mega Millions jackpot. Americans still invested more than $1 billion into chasing their fanciful dreams of wealth and fortune. This is reflective of a growing trend, where lottery sales continue to soar despite the uncertain economic climate.
Read more: The Good And Bad Of National Lotteries http://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0512/the-good-and-bad-of-national-lotteries.aspx#ixzz3r195UAjp
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