Evening star., 1933-05-09
NUMBERS PLAYER
!. GETS 1,0DE1 ODDS
Winning Figure Determined
by Winners in Three
Maryland Races.
Continued From First Page.)

Of money bet on each number.
A carbon copy of the slip is given the
player as his receipt.
Let's assume the customer" chooses
45l and plays a nickel on 1t. His next
move is to await the race results for
that day at Maryland track. Other
tracks. Of course, are used when thx
Maryland racing season is closed, but
only pari-mutuel tracks are selected.
for the reason that In figuring the
winner it is essential that the race re-
zr.ts contain decimal points, Is ex-
planned later.
= This business Of calculating the win
ming number is surrounded with a lot
OF unnecessary ceremonious mathe-
matics for the purpose not only Of con-
vlncing the clients that everything Is
"on the level" but of adding the spice
Of mystery to the game.
The method of calculation now pre-
Vaillng Is to place in a vertical column
the win, place and show odds of the
hrst three horses in the first race, add
these figures together and make a note
OF the digit Immediately left Of the
decimal point in the resulting sum.
Ihus, suppose the winning horse in
the first race paid S1440 to win, $40
to place and s4.20 to show; the second
morse PAID So. 40 to place and $500 to
snow and the third horse paid $3.50 to
show. The sum of these results Is
S3420 Four is the figure just to the
lett OF the decimal Four, then, Is the
hrst digit of the winning number.
Addition Process Repeated.
This addition process then is repeated
with respect to the second race and
the third race, and the figures arrived
at in these calculations become the
second and third digits, respectively of
the winning number. If the second
and third races produce the numbers
and l, the winning number Is said to
be 451-which is good news and good
fortune to the holder of that number.
For his nickel he will be entitled to $50.
less 10 per cent commission of the
writer. making his net winnings $27.
That. it must be conceded, Is an in
triguirg return for any investor.
When the clearing house returns were
governing the winners several years ago
some local newspapers discon-
tinued publishing them because OF this
misuse of them-there was not so much
mathematical tomfoolery. The last
three figures of the clearing house re-
turns-igncring cents-provided the WIN
ming number
The temperature chart of the Weather
Bureau also has been used In the past.
and some operators have determined
the number by rolling night dice
special dice usually loaded with
enough faces to provide for the dig!ts
from zero through nine.
All of these methods have been In
disfavor since the race result process
was devised. The very complexity OF
the plan appeals to the imagination OF
the players.
1,000-1 Odds Remain.
The ramifications of the calculations
in no way affect the odds Of 900 to !
against the player Mathematicians OF
Southeastern University have figured
out for The Star that the odds remain
the same just so long as the winning
number contains three digits. One
could divide the distance Of the moon
from the earth by ''pi," cube the result,
subtract the number of fish In the sea
and shake up the remainder in a dozen
silk hats and If the answer was a three
digit number your chances of guessing
it would be exactly l in 1000, the
Savants assert.
There's nothing difficult about fig
uring that cut" DR.. James A. Bell.
head of Southeastern University. ex-
planned. If the winning number had
only one digit. you would have one
chance in 10 of hitting it, for there are
only 10 numbers it could be, counting
from zero through 9. If the winning
number has two digits, it must be in
cluded in the numbers from double
zero to 80, so that the odds are l in
100 Similarly. if the winning number
has three digits, it must lie somewhere
between zero and 999, and the chances
the method used in choosing a number
has nothing in the world to do with
ones chances of getting it in lottery"
The worst phase Of the numbers"
situation in Washington is that the
game ensnares those who can least af-
ford to lose their dimes and dollars.
Money that should go for bread is
gambled away in the hope of a hand
some reward. Laboring men whose
families are in need of clothing or other
necessities are easy victims of the lure
while women and children suffer.
One insurance agent recently COM
planned to The Star that some Of hi
clients have let life insurance policit<
lapse in order to use the insurance
money for betting on numbers. Wives
of several colored customers have come
to me in tears about this waste of
money" he said. These people work
hard for their money and then literally
throw it away on numbers.
G. P. o. Draws Gamblers.
The Government Printing Ofice has
been a favorite magnet for many pro-
fessional gamblers. including the num-
bers" operators. George H. Carter, pub
lie printer. repeatedly has called atten-
ton of police to suspected gambling
houses in the vicinity of the Govern
ment's big print shop, and numerous
raids have been made. The gambling
still seems to thrive, however
Writers" have been observed in the
past near public schools, too, ac-
cording to authorities. They were wait
ing for pennies and nickels and dimes
that parents intended for lunches or
school supplies.
Why this Illicit business has not been
stamped out by police will be explained
in subsequent articles.
This is the second of four articles on
the numbers" racket. The third :cW
appear tomorroU)
SENATE COMMITTEE