

N.B.A. Draft Lottery Fates Are Sealed in Secret Before Envelopes Are Opened - hgennaro
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/18/sports/basketball/before-envelopes-are-opened-draft-fates-are-sealed-in-secrecy.html?_r=0

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hgennaro
Similar to the "simulate a fair coin from a weighted coin" algorithm:

> The number of Ping-Pong balls was chosen because there are exactly 1,001
> ways that four numbers can be drawn from a set of 14. Each of those
> combinations is assigned to a team. [...] The 1,001st and final combination
> — 11, 12, 13, 14 — is unassigned; if it is drawn, the balls will be put back
> and drawn again.

