LARRY LESSER’S LOTTERY LITERACY!
In 1993, while I was a mathematics education
doctoral student at the
ARTICLES
I wrote for educators:
* (Winter 2004). Take a Chance by Exploring the Statistics
in Lotteries. Statistics Teacher Network, No. 65, 6-7. The issue is also available at: http://www.amstat.org/education/stn/pdfs/STN65.pdf.
This article
gives intuition for the magnitude of the MegaMillions
jackpot probability at that time (on 6/22/05, the jackpot probability became
even smaller: 1/175,711,536) and then goes on to show how a lottery can be used
to explore (with a TI-83 calculator) all the major topics of an introductory
statistics course.
* (Fall 2003). A Whole Lotto Education!
* (November 1997). Exploring Lotteries with Excel. Spreadsheet User, 4(2), 4-7. Spreadsheets are used to explore the lottery, addressing common misconceptions about various lottery "strategies" and probabilities and providing real-world applications of topics such as discrete probability distributions, combinatorics, sampling, simulation and expected value. Additional pedagogical issues are also discussed. Examples discussed include the probability that an integer appearing in consecutive drawings, the probability that a single 6-ball drawing includes at least two consecutive integers, the probability that exactly one person wins the jackpot, and the probability that a frequent player eventually wins the jackpot.
* I also wrote letters in mass media such as the Houston Chronicle
(6/12/04) and the Austin Chronicle (5/14/93).
SONG I wrote to educate about lotteries:
“The Gambler”(http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/thegambler.html) addresses strategies and myths for playing a state
lottery, and may be sung to the tune of the same-titled Don Schlitz song that
yielded Kenny Rogers a #1 country hit and TV miniseries. Appeared in Winter 2002 Stats, Fall 2003
Official
Lottery WEBSITES:
Texas Lottery Commission website: http://www.txlottery.org
Lotto
MegaMillions: http://www.txlottery.org/export/sites/default/Games/Mega_Millions/
or http://www.megamillions.com/
New Mexico Lottery website: http://www.nmlottery.com/
PowerBall: http://www.powerball.com/
MISCELLANEOUS:
2-minute movie with
lottery/probability: go to www.causeweb.org/resources/fun/, select “Videos” then “Probability”
Where money goes: http://www.txlottery.org/export/sites/default/Supporting_Education/
“Straight Dope” on strategy (http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_119.html) and prize payouts (http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mlottery.html)
How to
Win More: Strategies for Increasing a Lottery Win, the only book on lotteries I’ve found so far
that I’d recommend: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1568810784/002-6149190-5012835?v=glance&n=283155
Lottery scams: http://www.txlottery.org/export/sites/default/About_Us/Security_Spotlight/
See if you can find misconceptions here: http://www.smartluck.com/locations/tips/tx544.htm
How some people try to defend lotteries: http://www.naspl.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=content&PageID=32&PageCategory=45
One way to make your own
“quick-pick” of numbers: http://www.random.org/sform.html
some articles for math lovers: http://www.lottery.state.mn.us/hypergeo.html,
www.amstat.org/publications/jse/v2n2/wasserstein.html,
www.amstat.org/publications/jse/v13n2/mecklin.html,
www.amstat.org/publications/jse/secure/v7n3/boland.cfm
Gambling help: http://www.txlottery.org/export/sites/default/Misc/Play_Responsibly.html
Shirley Jackson’s famous 1948 short
story called “The Lottery”: http://www.americanliterature.com/Jackson/SS/TheLottery.html
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My UTEP homepage: http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/