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May 18, 2013

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Gambling:

Compared to winning the lottery, what are the chances of other things happening?

By Ron Sylvester

Sun coverage

The odds of winning the $500 million-plus Mega Millions jackpot are long. Really long. One in 176 million, to be exact. So how does that compare with other occurrences? Here's a look.

    • Hitting a 00 in roulette



      There’s a 1 in 38 chance your number will come up by betting 00. Of course, the payout isn’t going to be as big as the lottery jackpot. But you’re likely to be able to play longer and have more fun. It’s one of the easiest games to understand in a casino.

    • A view of the Money Vault slot machine at Bally Technologies Thursday, March 29, 2012.

      Steve Marcus

      Winning a progressive slot jackpot



      Want a chance at winning a lottery-sized jackpot with better odds? Play a wide-area progressive slot, such as Money Vault. Odds are a mere 1 in 25 million for those playing in Nevada. A U.S. Marine recently hit a $2.8 million jackpot on that machine at the Bellagio.

    • UNLV guard Justin Hawkins celebrates his three-point shot that brought the Rebels to within two points of Colorado during their second round NCAA Men's Basketball Championship game Thursday, March 15, 2012 in Albuquerque. It was the closest the Rebels got as UNLV lost the game 68-64.

      Sam Morris

      Picking a perfect NCAA bracket



      Welcome to the exception on this list — the item with odds far longer than winning Mega Millions. Nailing a bracket is practically impossible.Picking all winners in the first two rounds of the college playoffs alone carries odds of 13.46 million to 1.

    • Lightning strikes behind the Luxor, left, and Excalibur hotel-casinos as a thunderstorm passes through Las Vegas early in the morning of September 11, 2011.

      Steve Marcus

      Getting hit by lightning



      According to the National Lightning Safety Institute, there's a 1 in 280,000 chance of being struck by lightning.

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