The fact that your favorite sports team unexpectedly won yesterday won’t improve your chances of winning the lottery—but it might increase the likelihood that you’ll buy a ticket, thanks to research by ISDM postdoc fellow, Dr. Ross Otto, NYU ISDM Director, Prof. Paul Glimcher, and University of Oxford professor, Dr. Stephen Fleming. After analyzing two years’ worth of daily lottery purchases in 174 New York City neighborhoods, Otto, Glimcher & Fleming discovered that citywide gambling increased following unrelated, unexpectedly positive events – in this case, local sports team wins and warm, sunny days.