A man has been living rough under a road bridge in southwest China for 10 years, saying he will not go home until he has cracked how to win the lottery and written books about it, according to a newspaper report.
Wang Chengzhou, 49, lives under a road intersection in Chongqing and spends most of his time researching, the Chengdu Commercial Daily reported.
He makes ends meet by doing part-time jobs, such as for the post office, but his obsession is research on the lottery, according to the article.
Wang came to Chongqing in 2008 after he recovered from a thigh fracture he suffered in a construction site accident in Xian in Shaanxi province.
He told his relatives he was going to work on another building site in Yunnan province, but ended up in Chongqing.
Wang's 76-year-old mother in his hometown in Shehong county in Sichuan province had no idea where her son was until reporters contacted her.
She begged him to return home for the Lunar New Year holiday next month, but Wang refused, saying he would not return until he had "made his mark in lottery research".
"I have mastered the algorithms of lotteries," Wang told the newspaper, adding he planned to write four books ranging from mental arithmetic to lottery codes, based on his research.
"I like thinking about lottery numbers in complete darkness in the morning from 2am to 5am and I spend about 2,000 yuan (US$312) a month buying lottery tickets," Wang said.
A post office official confirmed Wang had worked there for the past two years, but had recently quit.
"I know he is buying and researching about lotteries, but I never heard he won once," he said.
Zhou De, a maths teacher at Sichuan University, told the newspaper: "Lottery numbers are randomly generated. It's almost impossible to calculate lottery numbers in advance."
(Click to display full-size in gallery)
Some people are totally magnetized by the lottery.
Hey, ya never know!
All the more power to Wang Chengzhou. I hope he wins.
It appears that he has the freedom to do whatever his heart desires. Being homeless is his choice. I have heard that being homeless in some American cities is illegal. That is not freedom.
He has a loving family. But if he returned home for the Lunar New Year his Mother could beg him to stay until he changes his mind about the lottery.
Good luck with that.
He's living his dream !!
Not to many people would do that but go for it !!
"I never heard he won" yep that would be me, I'd spend my life under a bridge and figure it out and still not win. someone buys a qp on a whim and wins 100 million.
I have also been trying to crack the random code of the lottery and have had some lower prize level improvements over just using qp. i'd say at this point that trying to find more popular numbers does help somewhat.
Don't try living under a bridge at home folks: You may find yourself under arrest!
Hail Mary or Selassi!!!
May the trade winds on winnings beset on you Wang! Respect.
He is one brave human being. I for one is too afraid of giving up all or losing all to acheive something like this.
My first thought was 'what a nutcase'.
Then said whatever floats your boat and more power to you. Good luck, who knows...
"Zhou De, a maths teacher at Sichuan University, told the newspaper: "Lottery numbers are randomly generated. It's ALMOST impossible to calculate lottery numbers in advance."
Almost?
Sparked a brain cell here and looked up Mavis Wancyk. She won the largest lottery in the USA by playing folks birthdays in Massachusetts.
So naysayers mathematicians/statisticians it can and has been done, though I believe QP does have more jackpots overall.
The reason qp hit more often is simple. Most tickets bought are qp there for more often qp will be the winner.
Living under a bridge : Confirmed. Check the background.
I for one am not in the least surprised by Wang's story.Lots, but not all Asians are notorious for betting on anything that moves.Be it horses,dogs,roosters, praying mantis's- they are obsessed with that sort of thing. I guess telling him to quit at this point, is out of the question.