Have you ever thought that luck could have favorites? Maybe you ask yourself every time you log in to bet online and try your luck. But, if we look at history, how are things really? Let’s discover the most surprising stories of how Lady Luck loves to favor and strike in an arbitrary and capricious way.
Patricia Demauro: The Granny Who Defied the Laws of Probability
Now, get ready for this: you know those old ladies you see in casinos, clinging to slot machines as if their life depended on them? Well, Patricia Demauro was not one of them.
On May 23, 2009, this New Jersey lady sat down at a craps table at the Borgata Hotel Casino in Atlantic City. What happened next is enough to make even the most skeptical statisticians pale.
154 rolls, 4 hours and 18 minutes of pure magic
Patricia held the dice in her hand for 4 hours and 18 minutes, making 154 consecutive rolls without ever “setting” (losing). Experts say the odds of that happening are 1 in 1.56 trillion. That’s more likely than being hit by an asteroid. Twice!
And the best part is that Patricia was practically a novice. It was the second time she’d ever played craps! So next time someone tells you it takes experience to win, tell them about Patricia and enjoy their confused face.
Joan Ginther: The Serial Lottery Winner
Okay, sit down now, because this story is so absurd you might fall off your chair. Joan Ginther, a retired math professor from Texas, has won the lottery. Not once, not twice, but four times!
We’re talking multimillion-dollar wins: $5.4 million in 1993, $2 million in 2006, $3 million in 2008, and $10 million in 2010. The odds of that? According to experts, 1 in 18 septillion. For the non-mathematicians among us, that’s an 18 followed by 24 zeros!
Luck or mathematical genius?
Of course, with a background in mathematics, many suspected that Joan had a system in place to beat the lottery. She, for her part, was careful not to explain her “secret”. She simply pocketed her 20 million and moved to Las Vegas. Why? Well, I guess when luck smiles on you like that, you want to be as close to it as possible!
In conclusion
In conclusion, these stories teach us that luck is truly an unpredictable beast. It can transform a bum into a millionaire overnight, and a millionaire into a bum just as quickly. It can smile at those who have never gambled in their life and turn its back on those who spend their life in casinos.
So, the next time you decide to try your luck, remember these stories. And who knows, maybe Lady Luck will decide to wink at you. But remember: if that happens, don’t forget about us poor mortals!