According to sources, last year Americans spent more than $80 billion dollars playing state lotteries – around $250 for each citizen. That’s more than what is spent on concerts, sporting events, and movie tickets combined!
So when a retired couple from Michigan, Jerry and Marge Selbee, made $26 million by winning various lottery games, everybody rushed to them for tips!
It’s not a scam. The couple didn’t con their way into winning millions, but they were able to do so with simple math!
High school sweethearts Jerry and Marge Selbee live a “quiet life” in Evart. They have raised 6 sons and ran a convenience store for their living. But soon they decided to sell it and chill through their retirement.
“I was 62. Marge was 63. And I thought it was a nice time to sell and see what we could do after that…We were gonna enjoy life a little bit”, said Jerry.
However in 2003, Jerry spotted a brand new lottery game called ‘Winfall’, and within a few minutes, he realized that it was a unique game.
He has always had a head for maths, owing to his mathematics degree from Western Michigan University.
He was able to unlock a special feature which was called a ‘Rolldown’.
According to sources, the jackpot keeps building until someone hits all six numbers and wins the big prize. In Winfall, if the jackpot reached $5 million, and no one matched all six numbers, all the money ‘rolled down’ to the lower-tier prize winners, dramatically boosting the payouts of those who matched five, four or three numbers.
Most of us wouldn’t even know what that means but thankfully Jerry explained it in more detail!
“If I played $1,100 mathematically I’d have one 4-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 3-number winners and that’s 50 bucks each. At 18 I got $1,000 for a 4-number winner, and I got 18 3-number winners worth $50 each, so that’s 900 bucks. So I got $1,100 invested and I’ve got a $1,900 return.”
The first time he bought $3,600 worth of Winfall tickets, he won $6,300 in return!
As time went, they purchased hundreds and thousands of tickets which made them between 7.5-8 million dollars!
Jerry added (quite humbly!): “It is actually just basic arithmetic. 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.”
Not only did the couple get to enjoy the hefty amount, one of their friends and investors, Dave Huff, also had his share of the win: “It helped me put three kids through school and one through law school. So it was quite beneficial to me.”
And that’s not it. The Selbee’s story is soon to make its way into Hollywood!
Two retirees crack the code to state lotteries to the tune of millions? And they somehow do it legally? Jerry and Marge Selbee's remarkable story didn't just land them on 60 Minutes; they could be headed to Hollywood. https://t.co/ecHj4GafXt pic.twitter.com/6D5IKvaAOV
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) January 28, 2019
Who knew math could help you win a mind-blowing amount of money? If only I studied it a little harder in school. Dammit!