Lou_Para, yes, that's what I was looking for, thank you. I'm particularly interested in when the games were popular in the 1940s, when stay-at-home moms were betting 5¢ to play. I'm aware that the winning numbers were hidden in plain sight, for instance in the stock market pages of the newspaper where the last three digits or the middle three digits of a particular stock was the winning number, and that this was done to ensure an honest game. But who picked the method? The guy running the whole game, I assume? How would a lowly runner move up through the ranks to a higher position?
It may surprise you,but people were still betting nickles and dimes in the late seventies.
My dad and uncle were in the numbers business during that time and many people bet under a dollar on their total wager(straight and boxed).
As to the method of picking the winners,it depended on the operators. To use an example,in New York,numbers was originally a Black owned and operated racket. The winning number was the last 3 digits to the left of the decimal point on the total daily amount of para-mutual wagers at a particular racetrack(I believe Aqueduct,but I could be wrong). This was considered a tamper proof system. Most major cities used a similar method with their local tracks.The other method was to take the first 3 digits to the right of the decimal on the total shares on the NYSE,or the US Treasury balance for that day.
Here's a funny sideline.When Dutch Schultz took over the numbers in New York,they used the para-mutual bet total. Schultz employed a mathematical genius named Otto "Abbadabba Berman who would figure out how much Schultz's guys would have to bet on races at the track so that the winning numbers would be the ones with the lowest amount of wagers placed with Schultz.In return for this,Otto got paid the staggering sum of $10,000 per week as compared to the 1 or 2 hundred dollars that Schultz's other guys were paid.
As far as promotion in the ranks,all I can tell you is that my uncle started out taking bets at a couple of factories in our area (Western PA). He had a guy that he would turn the money over to. As he got known and got more customers,he added more locations, then he started getting other guys to take bets at their places of employment and turn their money into him,which he would add to his total that he submitted.
The guys under him got a commission on their total bets,as did my uncle.After a few years,he was given permission to "book" any wagers of $2.00 or less,and to turn in any wagers over that amount.My dad's job was to take phone calls from 10 or 15 numbers writers every day, take their bets,do a tally sheet and submit it to my uncle. My uncle had 4 or 5 other guys who did the same thing.
Before PA legalized the Lottery,a customer could play a number 4 different ways.These were Old Stock,New Stock,Town Race ,and *** Race(sorry but this would narrow down who and where I am).
The Old and New Stock was the first 3 digits to the right of the decimal on the NYSE and Nasdaq (or the Dow, depending on the decade)total shares traded ,and the Town Race and *** Race was based on local horse track results.
After the State got into it,the winner was the same as the Daily Number.
