Punters react to 0,0,0,0 Pick 4 draw

However, an officer at the G-Tech Corporation, which provides hardware/software and marketing services for the online lottery games, said the odds of a full slate of zeros being drawn was the same as any other random number- one in 10,000.

The official said that while a full slate of zeros had never been drawn since the Pick 4 had been launched, he added that other identical digits such as seven- seven-seven-seven had been drawn.

“We know it is possible because numbers zero-to nine are placed in the hoppers and other numbers like 7-7-7-7 has happened before but never for zero,” the official stated, adding, “we have known it is possible and it is the same odds for the other numbers.” But when Newsday visited Lotto booths yesterday, most players expressed disbelief the the full zeroes had been drawn though a few said the draw was indicative of the random nature of the game of chance.

“Well, I don’t play often but I don’t see how all the zeros could play,” Gangee Deonarine of Rambert Village said shortly after she played a Quick Pick at the JTA Lotto booth at St James Street, San Fernando.

“People bet their money and then zero come up, that is robbery,” she said.

However, Rajendra Maharaj, who meticulously placed his bets, adopted a more philosophical view saying the zero draw was another sign that a machine was drawing the numbers.

“That is how the game is played and that is how the machine plays it,” Maharaj said.

One player, Paul Figero, saw a more sinister hand at work saying “for all the zeroes to play, something else has to be at work.” According to a lottery website, Pick 4 winning numbers are the result of four separate and independent drawings.

In each drawing, one winning number is selected from ten possible outcomes, 0 through 9. Each selection is completely separate and has no effect on the other three drawings.