The term “lotto” comes from the word “lot”, as in “casting lot” — a phrase actually mentioned in the bible. Outside of the biblical gambling, the Chinese and Romans in the first century A.D. also both held lotteries; and in various forms and incarnations lotto games have been with us ever since. Modern lotteries are very high-profile, glossy affairs, attracting millions of players and paying out hundreds of millions of dollars in prizes.

On this day, July 12, in 2011 the winning numbers for a record £161m jackpot were announced, and Chris Weir and her husband Colin, a retired Scottish couple, learned they were the winners. As many states do now, the jackpot prize money was compounded after several previous drawings had no winners.

In the U.S. the largest lottery winners have claimed jackpots in the mid-$300 million range. Lest this encourage you to run out and and buy the next lottery ticket you see, consider that the odds of picking the five right numbers out of a field of 56 for each AND the one right “jackpot” ball from a field of 46 are approximately 175.7 million to one.