Published based on Why are the powerball and mega millions odds the same for 2nd Place Prize?
Why are the powerball and mega millions
odds the same for 2nd Place Prize?
by labormaus_69
Question by godsondov: Why are the powerball and mega millions odds the same for 2nd Place Prize?
It says on the back of both play cards the odds of matching 5 balls out of six and not matching the mega or
powerball are 1:in 3,904,701. But Powerball has more balls 1 -59 and Mega has less balls 1 -56. So If Powerball
uses 3 more balls how can the odds be the same? They cant be. The odds of matching 5 out of 6 in powerball are
more like 1: 5,138,133.
Best answer:
Answer by pdq
One at a time I will tell you some specific odds of getting certain combinations. Then I will explain why these odds
are not the same as what's listed on each website.
To hit 5 balls out of 5 with 56 numbers (like the Mega Millions) it is a 1 out of 3,819,816. (Keep in mind that the
Mega Millions 2nd place prize is listed as 1 out of 3,904,701, just like you said.)
To hit 5 balls out of 5 with 59 numbers (like the PowerBall) it is a 1 out of 5,006,386. (Again, this is not the same
as what is posted on the PowerBall website. On the website it is 1 out of 5,138,133, just like you said.)
I'm not really sure what "play card" your talking about. Perhaps you misread one of them.
Now maybe I misunderstood your question from the beginning, but let me finish my point. I'll just use 1 of the
above set of numbers to make my point. If there were only 5 balls from 1 to 56, the chances of hitting all 5 would
be 1 out of 3,819,816. The reason the Mega Millions website lists the odds of getting this as 1 out of 3,904,701 is
because they are talking about ONLY hitting those 5 numbers. Because of the fact that sometimes you'll hit the
Mega Ball number, too, this reduces the chances that you'll ONLY get the 5 white balls, and nothing else.
I'm fairly sure I got a bit off topic from what you were looking for. Again, perhaps you just misread the "play
cards".
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