As a historical aside, the French mathematician Charles Marie de La Condamine (with the help of some guy named Voltaire) did almost exactly that in the 1720s:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.damninteresting.com&#x2F;the-enlightenment-guide-to-winning-the-lottery&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.damninteresting.com&#x2F;the-enlightenment-guide-to-wi...</a>