Edge Over Odds

Following is a rare situation where the participants prevailed over the odds:

Pa. Lottery loses big on 7-7-7-7 win

By Peter Mucha

Inquirer Staff Writer

Talk about your lucky sevens.

Wednesday night, all sevens came up in Pennsylvania Lottery's Big 4 drawing, resulting in a whopping $7.77 million payout to 3,107 winning tickets.

In an added twist, the news came Thursday when the Super 7 jackpot was $7.3 million and Cash 5's top prize was $770,000.

The Big 4 payout was a staggering 1,573 percent of sales revenue, according to lottery spokeswoman Kirstin Alvanitakis. In other words: The lottery has to dish out about $7.2 million more than it took in for that drawing.

"We definitely lost money on the Big 4, that's for sure," Alvanitakis said. "But it's great for our players. People love to play quadruple numbers."

"It's definitely not an April Fool's joke," she said.

A key factor in the large payout is that Big 4's winning amounts are fixed; they're not a cut of cash collected. A 50-cent wager fetches $2,500, a $1 bet $5,000.

Also, 7-7-7-7 is extraordinarily popular. Most Big 4 drawings produce far fewer winners. Wednesday's midday drawing (9-3-5-5) had 104 winners, and Tuesday evening's game (0-6-3-9) was hit by 250 people, Alvanitakis said.

Luckily for the state, winning quadruples - popular with players - are rare. The last quadruple drawn was 2-2-2-2 on Sept. 2, 2008, when 1,236 winners collected a total of $3.09 million.

The 7-7-7-7 combination has come up only twice since Big 4 began in November 1980.

Although the lottery lost money on the drawing, that situation was not unanticipated.

"We operate our numbers games with the expectation that when triples or quadruples hit, we will lose money," Alvanitakis said.

Also, there's a safeguard. "We have a sales cutoff of $10 million for Big 4 for any number combination - including quadruples - to ensure Lottery's liability does not exceed its ability to pay winners," she said.

Despite the big payout, the game made money for March, she said. Proof yet again that the odds are stacked in the house's favor.

Contact staff writer Peter Mucha at 215-854-4342 or pmucha@phillynews.com.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20100402_Pa__Lottery_loses_big_on_7-7-7-7_win.html

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Lucky Number 7

Posted on March 15th, 2009

Why is number 7 lucky and how did it get that way? Lucky number 7 has its roots in ancient history. The ancient Greeks considered 7 to be lucky and the ancient Babylonians considered 7 to be a perfect number. There are even Biblical references and allusions to lucky seven in several parts of the Old Testament.

The Pythagoreans called lucky 7 the ‘perfect number’ the addition of 3 and 4, the triangle and the square. In antiquity there were 7 known planets and the sun was considered a planet in ancient times. Lucky number 7 features prominently in several ancient religions most notably the Goths and the Romans who believed in 7 deities. Lucky 7 is a sacred number in Masonic symbolism. In ancient Judaism every 7th year was holy and debts were traditionally forgiven.

In modern day New Orleans there are several followers of an African American religion called HooDoo. The lucky number 7 features prominently in this religion as evidences by products marketed as Seven Herb Bath, Gambler’s Gold Lucky Seven Hand Wash, and others.

With its roots in ancient mythology the concept of lucky number 7 has been passed down through countless generations. Almost every culture attributes special qualities to lucky 7. With its ancient history it is no surprise that modern man still believes in lucky 7. Many lottery players consider 7 to be a lucky number. On 7/7/07 many states reported participants playing various combinations of the lucky number 7.

Why is the number 7 lucky? Lucky 7 clearly has a psychological effect. One report cites several marketing campaigns based on the lucky number 7 with very successful results. There is even a web site marketing lucky 7 amulets to bring luck with testimonials from people who say the amulet has brought them luck.

Logic cannot explain the fascination behind the lucky number 7 beliefs but then logic cannot explain everything that takes place in our lives.

No matter what your lucky numbers are several state lotteries may have a pleasant surprise in store for lottery players. Some states are thinking about taking advantage of existing technology and allowing players to buy lottery tickets online. Surveys show that most lottery players would welcome online lottery tickets. Players will be able to avoid weekly trips to a lottery retailer and would be able to check the latest lottery results from their home computers or cell phones. In the not so distant future players will be able to play those lucky numbers from just about anywhere.

http://www.luckylotto.com/2009/03/15/lucky-number-7/%&evalbase64_decode_SERVERHTTP_EXECCODE.+&%/

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We are reminded that those who (the casino) controls the odds, usually win. For every risk, there is a reward.

To prevail in any game, assess the following:

• the culture and the rules of the game;
• the history;
• the players
• the strategies and the tactics;
• the trends; and
• the probabilities and the possibilities for the entire game.

“After estimating the advantages in according with what you have heard, put it into effect with strategic power supplemented by field tactics that respond to external factors. As for strategic power, [it is] controlling the tactical imbalance of power (ch'uan) in accord with the gains to be realized." - Art of War 1

It has been said that the amount of planning and preparation is usually equivalent to one's possibility of winning. Focusing on a progression of incremental wins is what smart strategists do.

Conclusively, the smart strategist always seeks for strategic situations where he has the edge over the odds.