# Professor Aaron Tenenbein explains the statistical probability of Robert Bailey winning the New York Lottery by playing the same numbers for 25 years

1 Faculty News November 14, 2018 ![The New York Times Logo](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/uat_027320.jpg?itok=W8xBr66g)>

Excerpt from the [The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/nyregion/powerball-winner-harlem.html) -- "Aaron Tenenbein, a statistics professor at New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business, estimated Mr. Bailey’s odds would have been 1 out of 115,385. 'It doesn’t matter if he’s playing the same number; it’s still the same chance,' Mr. Tenenbein said. In other words: 'It’s pure luck.'"

[Read more](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/nyregion/powerball-winner-harlem.html)