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A COUPLE claims to have cracked the code to winning the lottery – and have $26million in prize money to prove it.
Maths marvel Jerry Selbee and his wife Marge made themselves multi-millionaires after finding a legal loophole in the lotto.
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The triumphant retirees have been turning tricks on the Winfall game since 2003, after realizing how to work the odds in their favor.
Jerry and Marge, from Michigan, used “simple maths” to decipher when buying multiple tickets at once could see them scoop the jackpot.
The dad, who boasts a bachelor’s degree and an MBA in mathematics, says it only took him “about four minutes” to find the fortunate flaw.
The now 83-year-old noticed that he could cash in on Winfall’s roll-down gimmick, which awards lower prizes when the jackpot isn’t won.
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Jerry and Marge told 60Minutes: “I looked at the probabilities of the game and it said that when the WinFall actually occurred and no one won the jackpot, that the prize level would go up by a factor of 10.
“$50 for a three-number winner and $1,000 for a four-number winner and the odds were one in 56 and a half for a three-number winner and one in 1032 for a four-number winner.”
Each ticket of Winfall cost $1 and a player could pick six numbers between 1 and 49 with one ticket.
If the six numbers Michigan Lottery drew were the same six numbers a player picked, the individual would win a jackpot of at least $2million or higher.
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Like other lotto games, if no player had the six numbers required for the jackpot, the windfall would roll over to the next week.
And if the player guessed five, four, three, or two of the six numbers, lesser prizes were awarded.
The clever couple cottoned on to the fact that they “did not have to be lucky to win, but had to be unlucky to lose”.
Jerry, who is a lifelong puzzle solver, realised that as long as no one guessed the six numbers on roll-down weeks, then a $1 ticket was statistically worth more than $1.
He explained: “If I played $1,100 mathematically I’d have one four-number winner, that’s 1,000 bucks.
“I divided 1,100 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.
“At 18 I got $1,000 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.”
He soon spilled his secret to his wife Marge and they, along with their kids and close friends, started up a betting group GS Investment Strategies LLC in the small town of Evart.
The group bought hundreds of thousands of tickets every time there was a roll-down week and earned between $7.5million and $8million (£5.8million).
But in 2005, their home state shut down Winfall – forcing the couple to get creative.
They ended up finding an almost identical game in Massachusetts and traveled there to find they could win even more money.
The state, 700miles away from their home, had a generous £1.5 million ($2 million) winning cap to capitalise on.
Jerry and Marge also discovered there was a 92.8 per cent chance of nobody bagging the top prizes – making the 15 hour trips worth it.
He added: “Our first play was $80,000 with 40,000 tickets, and our last play was $712,000 with 366,000 tickets.
“We did spend 11 to 14 nights at the motel in South Deerfield and it was something we looked forward to.
We did not have to be lucky to win, but had to be unlucky to lose
“It was something different and it was profitable and it was able to help our family and help our friends out with a little financial boost.”
However, their get-rich-quick scheme was soon rumbled by lotto officials – but the pair had done nothing wrong.
Jerry’s mathematic ability simply allowed the duo to take advantage of the game of chance, earning them a tidy £23million ($27,815million).
Greg Sullivan, then state inspector general in Massachusetts, said he was “dumbfoundedly amazed that these math-nerd geniuses had found a way legally to win a state lottery and make millions from it”.
And after cracking the code to win millions, the couple are now cracking Hollywood after selling the rights to their story.
The film Jerry and Marge Go Large, which came out in the US in June, follows their extraordinary pursuit of the lotto jackpot.
Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston stars as the maths mastermind while American Beauty actress Anette Benning takes on the role of Marge.
The prudent pair have invested their winnings wisely, helping their kids financially, and paid for the education of their 14 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
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Jerry also bought gold and silver coins in an anticipation of economic downturns, adding: “I think devaluation of the dollar is a certainty.”
However, there’s been no flash holidays, new hot tub or even a sports car, as Jerry told CBS: “We don’t cruise.”
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