At $500 million, the Powerball lottery has never been a better bet

The jackpot in the Nov. 28 Powerball lottery, a drawing across two-thirds of the United States, is up to a record $500 million. And while it’s never a good idea to buy a lottery ticket, if you insist, now may actually be the best time to go all-in on this investment. Let’s break down the odds.

Lottery players have long dreamed of making the perfect bet: buy every possible combination of numbers to guarantee yourself a jackpot and, if the pot is large enough, profit the difference. Powerball tickets cost $2 each, and you can play the numbers 175,223,510 different ways, so with a sizable but short-term loan, you ought to pocket about $150 million on this investment, right?

Well, no. There are taxes to consider, and prizes aren’t paid all at once, but more to the point: as jackpots grow and the number of tickets sold increases, so do the chances of multiple winners splitting the pot. In short, it’s not a good bet.

So not that we’re recommending it, but now is as good a time as any to play every possible combination and pray for the best. The odds aren’t in your favor—in fact, even if you’re the only winner, you probably won’t break even after taxes—but it’s the best shot you’ve ever had.