I didn’t win the $588 million Powerball Lottery but as the saying goes, if you don’t play you can’t win. There were two winners, one in Arizona and the other from a Trex Mart in Dearbord, Missouri. After the government gets their big win, the other two will have to share $385 million after taxes. Lottery officials say that most people today opt for the lump sum payout. After getting legal help, the most important step for the winners is to sign and verify the tickets. That way there can be no discussion about who owns the ticket. I keep playing because 25 years ago a friend of mine won a state lottery that was paid out over 20 years. Before taxes he received $600,000 annually. Not bad 25 years ago. Your odds of winning the most recent Powerball were one in 175 million. Last week the SciGuy in his blog put together some other odds and compared them to the Powerball odds. Here they are. Dying by a lightning strike, one in 83 thousand. Dating a supermodel one in 88 thousand. Dying by ignition or melting nightwear one in 397 thousand. Drawing a royal flush in five cards, one in 649 thousand. Dying by a snakebite or lizard bite one in 874 thousand and becoming President of the United States one in 10 million. There is one statistic that makes the lottery odds seem reasonable. You have a one in 822 trillion chance that a meteor could hit your house. But, hey, if you don’t play you can’t win.Powerball Drawing