Cut Numbers is the first novel by Nick Tosches

Nick Tosches

Nick Tosches is an American journalist, novelist, biographer, and poet of Albanian and Italian descent.- Life :After different odd-jobs, Tosches started writing with poetry and rock-'n'-roll magazines, including Creem, Fusion, and Rolling Stone.Tosches' second book, a biography of Jerry Lee Lewis...

. It involves small time criminals struggling to maintain the financial viability of their cut numbers game

Numbers game

Numbers game, also known as a numbers racket, policy racket or Italian lottery, is an illegal lottery played mostly in poor neighborhoods in the United States, wherein a bettor attempts to pick three digits to match those that will be randomly drawn the following day...

 after the implementation of the New York Lottery

New York Lottery

The New York Lottery began in 1967 as the third modern U.S. lottery, after Puerto Rico's began in 1934, and New Hampshire's in 1964. It provides revenue for public education, and is based in Schenectady.-History:...

. They establish an elaborate scheme to fix the legitimate state lottery. The main character is Louie Brunellesches who also appears in Tosches' novel In The Hand Of Dante

In The Hand Of Dante

In the Hand of Dante is the third novel by Nick Tosches.-Plot:The book interweaves two separate stories, one set in the 14th century in Italy and Sicily and featuring Dante Alighieri, and another set in the autumn of 2001 and featuring a fictionalized version of Nick Tosches as the protagonist...

See also

• Lucky Numbers
  Lucky Numbers
  Lucky Numbers is a 2000 comedy film directed by Nora Ephron. The screenplay by Adam Resnick was inspired by the 1980 Pennsylvania Lottery scandal.-Plot:...
  
  , a 2000 Nora Ephron
  Nora Ephron
  Nora Ephron is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, novelist, playwright, journalist, author, and blogger.She is best known for her romantic comedies and is a triple nominee for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay; for Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in...
  
  /John Travolta
  John Travolta
  John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
  
  film dealing with a similar lottery scheme.