Retired Couple Crack US State Lottery
A retired couple has won millions of dollars after using “basic arithmetic” to crack the US lottery.
Jerry and Marge Selbee won $26 million after realising they could beat the odds of a state lottery game released in 2003.
The couple had retired and sold their convenience store in Evart, Michigan. Mr. Selbee, who graduated from college with a degree in maths, came across a brochure for a new lottery game called Winfall.
Unlike the well known Mega Millions games, where the jackpot keeps building until someone hits all six numbers to win the big prize, Winfall instead had a feature called “rolldown.”
The feature meant that if a jackpot reached $5 million and no one matched all six numbers, the money trickled down to the lower-tier prize winners, boosting the payouts of those who matched five, four or three numbers.
Mr. Selbee realized in “three minutes” the potential of the new game, he told CBS. If he bought $1,100 worth of tickets he would have at least one four-number winner, which would pay out at $1,000. He would also get around 18 or 19 three number winners, paying $50 each and earning him a total of $1,900. When Mr Selbee first tried his plan he bought $3,600 worth of tickets – and won back $6,300. The second time he nearly doubled his investment of $8,000.
How did they do it?!
“It is actually just basic arithmetic,” Mr Selbee said.
They were “amazed” that no one else had figured out the scheme. The couple began playing hundreds of thousands of dollars, eventually setting up GS Investment Strategies and inviting family and friends to buy shares for $500 each.
The Selbees said that they would sit in a hotel and sort through tickets. This would be for 10 hours a day, ten days in a row, playing more than $600,000 per attempt.
What happened when they were found out?
Their corporation earned $26 million in total, including an $8 million profit. This was used to renovate their home. In addition, they paid for the education of their six children, 14 grandchildren, and 10 great children.
Producers have bought the film rights to the couple’s story.
