Lottery sites generate numbers, dreams

By Porter Anderson
CNN

(CNN) -- Those lottery balls are bouncing higher again.

The Powerball jackpot is approaching $130 million for Saturday's drawing.

But if you've been playing right up the ramp, you may be running out of numbers. You've already added your two dogs' birth dates and divided by the number of baby teeth your daughter has lost, then multiplied that by half the weight of the guy who mows your lawn, right?

Where are you going to find another formula for picking numbers?

QUICKVOTE Would you use an Internet site to generate lottery numbers? Sure. Saves the creativity for other stuff. I'd try it, see how it went, might like it. No way, picking your numbers is the fun View Results

Well, there are some Webmasters who'd like to do it for you and we've compiled a small, informal list of a few numbers-generating sites you might start with.

There are no endorsements here, real or implied. And on the Internet, just as in other settings, beware promises of better chances, predictions of wins, claims of special secrets or insights. The odds are the odds are the odds -- they're high and they're not in your favor.

But if you'd like to put a little techno-spin on your number selections, the machinery is out there and waiting -- sometimes free, sometimes for a price. Player beware. And good luck.

The Virtual Lottery Number Page
http://www.geocities.com/WallStreet/9819/

This site is mounted by Webmaster Mike Arnold who says he works as a programmer and analyst. It generates lottery numbers for games including Pick-3, Pick-4, Lotto and Powerball. There are lottery-results links and a chance for you to register any wins in a "Winners Circle" area of the site.

Lotto Genie
http://www.lottogenie.com/

This site offers numbers for any Pick-5, -6, or -7 game including Powerball. It features both United States and Canadian lottery number generators. There's a free demo to see if you like it, but the real action requires a subscription -- $9.99 for 6 months, $16.99 for a year.

'My Best Bet' at LottoGen.com
http://www.lottogen.com/

There's no fee on this one, but you do register to use this site, and then numbers generated for you come by e-mail. This site covers United States and international games and notifies you of winning number combinations. There's also an archive of recent lottery wins in most states and countries, for your reference.

LottoFever
http://www.lottofever.com/

This site encourages you to join a "lottery club." In the case of Powerball, a club has a maximum 21 players. Any winnings for your club are shared by the members of that club on a pari-mutuel basis. You run an account, starting with a minimum of $25. When you join a club and play, the cost is deducted from your account. Results of lotteries come to you in e-mail.

Again, on all these sites, check any disclaimers. A representative warning that appears on one numbers-generating site, for example, reads this way: "Although we have taken extreme care, no warranty as to the accuracy of any of the presented information is implied. Please check with official sources to confirm any winning (or losing) numbers."