Wouldn’t it be great if it was possible to work out how to win a lottery draw? Jerry and Marge Selbee from Michigan in the USA claim that they have done just that and it’s won them $26 million. Now their story has been turned into the recently released movie on Paramount + ‘Jerry and Marge Go Large.’
In eighth grade, although being dyslexic, Jerry was able to solve complex mathematical problems set for much older pupils. He loves to solve puzzles and that helped him break the code of the American cereal industry when working for Kellogs as a materials analyst.
The couple initially made money from the lottery by selling tickets in the store they owned. They retired in 2000 and three years later, Jerry discovered the Winfall lottery game. The mathematical genius soon found a way to make a profit.
He worked out that when the jackpot wasn’t won, there would be a roll down and that increased the total prize pool. The jackpot could reach $5 million and if it wasn’t won then that amount would be divided between the other prize tiers. For those you could get wins even if only matching two of the six numbers in the game.
Jerry worked out that according to the rule of averages, when these roll-down weeks occurred, you could get wins if enough tickets had been purchased and that’s just what happened as they bought thousands of tickets and it was all perfectly legal.
GS Investment Strategies LLC was formed to start investing in lottery tickets. Over nine years, the company made profits of $26 million. At one stage they were buying 366,000 tickets for a draw costing them $712,000 but still making a profit
When the Winfall game was shut down, they started playing the Cash Winfall game in Massachusetts and more wins were achieved. An investigation was held by the Boston Globe into their winnings. That led to restrictions being imposed and the Selbees run of wins came to an end
The couple have put their profits to good use. They have made donations that have helped their family and also the small town where they live.
Now a movie has been made of their incredible story starring Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening Perhaps Jerry might fancy trying to get a SuperEnalotto jackpot for the sequel. That still hasn’t been won since last May and is now nearly 260m euros.
