are your lottery numbers not working out?

maybe they need to work out
 

Lottorobics: The Pick-6 Lotto Exercise Plan

Skip right to the workout

If you're like me, your only real chance at financial prosperity comes from frivolous workman's comp lawsuits and the Pick-6 Lotto. However, even in my home state of Texas, the government eventually figures out that once you've suffered permanently debilitating injuries to both legs, both arms, neck and groin, there's no way you can claim to injure them again on a new job.

Because of this injustice, I've been forced to set aside some of my purely religious use of peyote and put more money into the Lotto. After years of little to no success (you can't get far on a single 3-out-of-6 $4 winner), I realized why my Lotto numbers never work out.

The reason? I never tested them out.

How can you expect your Lotto numbers to come up a winner if you haven't run them through some practice sessions? After meeting a Java programmer at Lew Sterritt Correctional Center, I collaborated with him on Lottorobics, the Pick-6 Lotto Exercise plan.

Enter your favorite six numbers below or click the Quick Pick option to generate six numbers at random. Press Play to start running Lotto drawings, Stop to stop them, and Reset to reset your stats. Repeat as desired. -- Rogers Cadenhead

  

L O T T O R O B I C S

Since this page went online, 4,970,813 drawings have been conducted with this applet (77 years of twice-weekly drawings). There have been 76,509 3-out-of-6 winners, 4,041 4-out-of-6 winners, 100 5-out-of-6 winners, and 2 6-out-of-6 winners.

The first person to win this fictional lottery was Bill Teer on Aug. 14, 2000, more than four years after the applet went online. His numbers were 3, 7, 1, 15, 34, and 43, and it only took him 241,225 drawings (2319.47 years) to win.

A version of the Lottorobics applet is featured in Teach Yourself Java 2 in 24 Hours, 3rd Edition by Rogers Cadenhead. Readers learn how to program this applet, animation, and dozens of other programs in 24 one-hour tutorials.

Visit the Book's Web Site | Download the Source Code

until next time, kids, remember:

nobody ever says you have a gambling problem

when you're winning
"Still counting on a lottery win to set you up for life? For a reality check, head over to the Lottorobics site, where you can put your favorite numbers to the test. I tried a quick-pick simulation and in 1,500 drawings, I hit three of six 22 times and four of six once. Time to check out that 401(k)." -- John Murrell, San Jose Mercury News, June 11, 1997