The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1883-06-04
CHINESE LOTTERIES.

CHINESE LOTTERIES.
Most persons have heard some
thing of Chinese lotteries few, 1
believe, understand the principle of
the game. 1t is no uncommon thing
to hear it said, and that by persons
who profess to know, that the odds
in favour of the bank are millions,
nay, even billions. ifag
Previous to all calculation, this
seemed to me highly improbable.
If it were true, we could hardly ex-
pect to hear of winner once in a
lifetime, nor would the most reck-
less gambler be tempted to take part
in it. But what do we find? In
every town in Victoria, or the other
colonies, where there is a Chinese
population gathered together, the
game is in full swing seven nights in
the week. Nor is the play confined
to the Chinese; Europeans too, I
regret to say, are often numbered
amongst its most ardent devotees.
And whilst naturally, the losers far
outnumber the winners, still small
sums are by no means unfrequently
won, and at rarer intervals comes
the report of some lucky player
breaking the bank. ~
Results SO different from what
should be, expected, were the odds
anything like what they are COM
monty reported to be, aroused my
curiosity to investigate the game,
and as have never seen an account
of it in print, I thought the result of
my investigation might not be with
out interest for your readers. 7,
The purchaser of a chance in the
lottery receives a ticket with the
numbers from one to eighty insert
bed thereon in Chinese characters 5;
he marks any ten of these numbers
he pleases Ga copy being kept by
the bank for identifcation), and
then with mores or less hope, ac-
cording to his temperament, awaits
the drawing. ~
The drawing takes place in this
way: Eighty small ballots numbered
consecutively from one to eighty,
are mixed together, and twenty Of
these selected by lot, from what is
called the bank ticket. Should five
or more of the ten numbers marked
on the purchased ticket be found
among the twenty constituting the
bank ticket, the holder wins, and
receives varying sums according to
the number Of hits; if less than five,
he loses. FIJI
And here may be noted that
strange popularity of the Chinese
mind so unlike that of other people.
With them gambling appears invested
with all the outward signs of religi-
GUS worship. h The prostrations and
bowings and burning Of sweet-swell-
ing papers, that precede and accom-
pany the ceremony of drawing at
once amuseland amaze the European
spectator. adJust imagine the very
clever gentlemen who preside over
the tables ut Monaco opening their
proceedings with prayer!
TO calculate the chances it will be
necessary to ascertain, first, in how
many ways the player may mark his
ticket, that is, into how many COM
binations of tens it's eighty numbers
may be arranged secondly, how
many of these tens must contain five
or more of the twenty bank num-
bers.
Now by the laws Of combination
1t can be shown, that Of 80 numbers
taken, ten and ten at a time, the
total possible combinations amount
to 1,646, 492, 1lO,12O; this then is
the number of ways in which ticket
may be marked.
Again, of the twenty bank num-
bers taken by fives, there may b.
1904 different sets, and Of thu
other 60 numbers, also taken by
fives, there may be 5,461, 5l2 sets
and as any one of the first set com
bined with any one of the secont
yields favourable result, the pro
duct of these numbers (Which il
"a, 1922, 04S) gives the humble
Of ways Of winning five marks