At the entrance of Nipton, a man by the name of Oliver Swanick comes up to you and proclaims he won the lottery. Later, we discover that the lottery is a death sentence, and if you fail to win, you are executed. This may be a reference to a short novel "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, where the winner of the lottery was stoned. This is practically the same incident, just the prize for winning altered. It can also be said that both of the lotteries are well known around town.