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5 things more likely to happen than winning the 'improved' Mega Millions jackpot

5 things more likely to happen than winning the 'improved' Mega Millions jackpot

There will be a new prize structure for the Mega Millions lottery game starting on April 8

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close up of Mega Millions and other lottery tickets on display
Mega Millions lottery tickets at a convenience store on October 23, 2018 in New York City.
Photo: Drew Angerer (Getty Images)

The Mega Millions lottery game is making changes in April that it said will benefit players with “improved” odds of winning prizes — even the jackpot.

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Under a new prize structure starting on April 8, lottery players can win larger non-jackpot prizes, such as between $10 and $50 instead of just $2. However, ticket prices are also going up from $2 to $5.

“Beyond big jackpots, players told us they want bigger non-jackpot prizes and that’s exactly what this new game delivers,” Joshua Johnston, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a statement. Johnston added that non-jackpot winners will take home between two- to 10-times more prize money.

For jackpot winning hopefuls, the odds of winning have improved to one in 290.5 million from one in 302.6 million due to the game losing one gold ball. With 24 balls instead of 25, the odds of winning any prize is also improving from one in 24 to one in 23.

Here are five things that are more likely to happen to a person than winning the Mega Millions jackpot.

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Getting killed by a meteorite

Getting killed by a meteorite

close up of a piece of grey rock with black dust on it in a white tray
A piece of the Chelyabinsk meteorite on display on June 17, 2015 in Washington, D.C.
Photo: Chip Somodevilla (Getty Images)

Meteorites hit Earth thousands of times a year, but its rare (though, not impossible) that a person will be hit by one since the space debris usually burns up as it enters the atmosphere.

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According to a 2014 paper by Tulane University earth sciences professor Stephen Nelson, the lifetime odds of a person in the U.S. dying from being hit by a meteorite (which are usually fragments of asteroids) is one in 1.6 million.

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Becoming a saint in the Catholic Church

Becoming a saint in the Catholic Church

pope francis wearing all white and smiling as he waves at people who are not pictured
Pope Francis at the Manila Cathedral on January 16, 2015 in Manila, Philippines.
Photo: Lisa Maree Williams (Getty Images)

The odds of being canonized — or being declared a saint by the Pope — in the Catholic Church is one in 20 million, according to Gregory Baer’s book, “Life: The Odds.”

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Being elected president of the United States

Being elected president of the United States

Donald Trump wearing a blue suit jacket and orange tie with stripes speaking with his hands out
U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House on March 13, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Photo: Andrew Harnik (Getty Images)

If every U.S. citizen was running for the nation’s highest office, the odds of being elected as president of the United States would be one in 32.6 million. The chances could be higher too, considering not every U.S. citizen was born in the country.

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Winning a slot machine jackpot in a casino

Winning a slot machine jackpot in a casino

a row of people playing slot machine games in a dark-lit room
People playing on slot machines at the Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino on November 15, 2006 in Hallandale Beach, Florida.
Photo: Joe Raedle (Getty Images)

The odds of winning a jackpot when gambling with a slot machine in a casino are higher than playing the Mega Millions.

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But it can still be tough, with Investopedia putting winning odds between one in 5,000, to one in 34 million.

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Being killed by a falling vending machine

Being killed by a falling vending machine

two girls stand in front of a coca cola vending machine, one is reaching in while the other is talking to her, another vending machine with chip bags is on the left
Students using vending machines at Jones College Prep High School on April 20, 2004 in Chicago, Illinois.
Photo: Tim Boyle (Getty Images)

The odds of being crushed by a vending machine are relatively low at about one in 112 million, according to this Irish vending machines seller. The deaths are usually the result of a vending machine falling on someone who is trying to get an item that is stuck inside.

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