Man has been living under bridge for last decade, studying how to crack lottery code

He claims to have basically mastered the lottery’s algorithms, but doesn’t remember how much money he has won

For the past decade, a man has been living under a bridge in Chongqing, believing that it is only a matter of time before he “cracks the code” on how to win the lottery and becomes a billionaire.

49-year-old Wang Chengzhou lives underneath a bridge spanning the Yangtze River. In the early hours of the morning, typically between 2 am to 5 am, you can find him working feverishly at a table inside his “studio,” aided by packs of cigarettes and bottles of Chinese wine, doing calculations in order to determine what the winning lottery number will be.

Wang told the Chengdu Business Daily that he was struck with the idea that the lottery’s code could be cracked while drinking back in 2004. He now claims that he has essentially “mastered” the algorithms used and spends about 2,000 yuan a month on lotto tickets.

However, he said that he does not remember how much he has won and refused to let reporters take photos of his work, not wanting his “secrets” to be divulged to the world.

A former construction worker, Wang moved to Chongqing in 2008 following an on-site injury where he was paid 50,000 yuan in compensation. To earn money since then, he has worked a string of part-time jobs, but decided to quit a steady gig at the post office last month to focus more on his mission. “Work is not important,” he said simply.

Until reporters contacted them, Wang’s family had no clue where he was. His mother has urged him to come home to Sichuan’s Shehong County this year for the upcoming Spring Festival, but Wang has refused, explaining that he will not leave until his research is finally complete, adding that he plans to write four books on how to win the lottery, which he believes will make him rich and famous —apparently, even more rich and famous than say, keeping the secrets to himself and buying lotto tickets.

Unfortunately for Wang, the newspaper also spoke with a mathematics professor at Sichuan University who said that it was impossible to calculate the winning lottery numbers in advance since the numbers are randomly generated.

[Images via Chengdu Business Daily]