What Are The Odds Of Winning The Powerball Jackpot In 2016? Chances Of Hitting It Big Are Low ... Very Low

Are you sitting down? There's some shocking news to report. Odds are you're not going to win the massive, record-breaking $700 million Powerball jackpot.

The next drawing for the jackpot is scheduled for Saturday at 11 p.m. and the prize is expected to grow further by then, with an official even suggesting $1 billion was on the table.

"We could be on the verge of creating the first lottery billionaire," said Gordon Medenica, director of the Maryland Lottery agency to the Washington Post. "This is uncharted territory. This has never happened."

Nearly everybody in the country could certainly use the windfall of that massive figure, which of course would shrink significantly from the lump-sum payout rules and from Uncle Sam's cut. But what are chances you'll win that record payout? The answer: very, very low.

Lottery officials said the odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 292 million, according to the Post. Listed below are a few events more likely to happen to you than winning the jackpot, via the Daily Beast:

-Being crushed and killed by a tipped-over vending machine: 1 in 112 million.

-Becoming president: 1 in 10 million.

-Having identical quadruplets: 1 in 15 million.

Odds are a bit better that you could win smaller prizes from the drawing, which could still be life-changing. In fact, during Wednesday's drawing with no jackpot winner that allowed the prize to grow further, a number of people won smaller payouts. About a dozen people from all over the country won either $1 million or $2 million. The lucky folks were in California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Washington state.

Most people are aware that the chances of winning a massive lottery payout are rather low, but that doesn't stop them from going out and buying tickets to buoy their hopes regardless. So perhaps the $2 for a ticket is worth it, as long as you understand that at about 1 in 264.1 million, it's more likely you'll get bitten by a shark than win the jackpot.