Couple won $26,000,000 on lottery after working out ‘loophole’ in just three minutes
There's hacking the system by bumping a slot machine so extra coins fall out but one couple managed to find a 'loophole' in the lottery which landed them a staggering $26 million.
Most of us who've ever done the lottery do so because we woke up and were in a good mood or maybe a bird sh*t on you and you thought it was a sign.
But one retired couple didn't just wait around for faeces to fall on them from out of the sky, instead actually putting their thinking caps on and coming out with a pretty solid scheme in order to crack the lottery code and get their hands on some cold, hard cash.
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According to Investopedia, the odds of winning the jackpot in the Powerball drawing are 1 in 292.2 million, so wishing on a star, not stepping on the cracks on the sidewalk or walking under signs probably isn't going to help much.
So, Jerry and Marge Selbee from Evart, Michigan, found a 'loophole' in the system that would allow them to become mega-rich.
Now, this sounds seedy, but they actually found a legitimate way to win the lottery - specifically, a game called Cash Winfall - so listen in.
The pair had retired in their early 60s with no plan other than to put their feet up and 'enjoy life', as they explained in an episode of CBS News' 60 Minutes Overtime.
However, when Jerry - who has a 'head for math' - realized in Cash Winfall if the jackpot reached $5 million and no one matched all six numbers, the money 'rolls down' to the lower-tier prize winners, he got to work.
Prepare to really test out whether you remember anything at all from math in high school.
"If I played $1100, mathematically I'd have one four-number winner – that's 1,000 bucks." he explained.
"I divided 1100 by six instead of 57, because I did a mental quick dirty, and I come up with 18. So I knew I'd have either 18 or 19 three-number winners, and that's 50 bucks each.
He continued: "At 18, I got $1000 for a four-number winner, and I got 18 three-number winners worth $50 each, so that's 900 bucks.
"So I got $1,100 invested and I've got a $1,900 return."
Phew. Even if you didn't understand all of that, it's easy to see that a $800 return on a $1,100 investment is pretty damn good.
The first time Jerry trialled the plan, he went all in buying $3,600 worth of Winfall tickets – and his trick worked, earning the couple $6,300.
The next time, he bought $8,000 worth of tickets and nearly doubled the investment. On and on the cycle went and before long they began playing with hundreds of thousands of dollars.
And the pair didn't just hog the loophole to themselves either, getting their kids and close friends involved too and landing themselves with an impressive $26 million in total - playing in Massachusetts when the game closed down in Winfall.
"It is actually just basic arithmetic," added Jerry. "It gave you the satisfaction of being successful at something that was worthwhile to not only us personally but to our friends and our family."
Eventually their plan was foiled after the Boston Globe got a tip that the lottery game was being scammed, and it was shut down by the Massachusetts Lottery.
But it was 2011 at this point, and the Selbees and their loved ones had already made their fortune.
Although authorities launched an investigation into the matter, they soon realised the couple hadn't committed any crimes whatsoever – they were simply a heck of a lot more clever than the rest of us.
Their story even became the subject of a feature film named Jerry & Marge Go Large, which was released in 2022 and stars the legendary Bryan Cranston.
And if you'd like to see the unlikely plot unfold on the big screen, the movie is available to watch on Paramount Plus.
Poppy Bilderbeck