Retired Michigan couple win $26 million lottery by finding a legal loophole. Then, Hollywood called
Winning a lottery is often simply associated with pure 'luck,' but the science of statistics can provide insight into patterns behind the game of chance. That's why Jerry and Marge Selbee from Evart, Michigan decided against simply playing the odds and discovered a way to ensure their win using "simple arithmetic." They discovered a method that worked on a specific game called the Cash Winfall, which was suspended after authorities realized that people were exploiting it for easy cash. The couple reportedly managed to cash in on their calculations and won a staggering $26 million in total.
The couple lived a quiet life and raised six kids while running a local convenience store on the main street of the small quaint town for 17 long years before they finally decided to retire. "That was it. We were gonna enjoy life a little bit," Jerry told CBS News.
But everything changed back in 2003 when Jerry happened to visit the corner store and spotted a brochure for a brand new lottery game called Winfall. Jerry instantly sensed potential in it and found a "special feature" of the game within three minutes. The feature was called a Rolldown, which involved an increase in the lottery jackpot amount till it reached $5 million, and when no one matched all six numbers the money 'rolled down to lower-tier prize winners, dramatically boosting the payouts of those who matched five, four, or three numbers.
Explaining the equation that helped them win, Jerry said, "I said 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 came 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," Jerry told CBS.
He then waited until the next rolldown and worked his magic. He soon bought $3,600 in Winfall and won $6,300. Then he bet $8,000 and nearly doubled the money. It didn't take them long before they started playing for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Jerry even set up a corporation, G.S. Investment Strategies. He also kept stacks of record books that contained details of their winnings.
He also kept piles and piles of losing tickets worth $18 million, in case of a physical audit. "We had the upstairs of the barn. I stored them on one end and on the other end. And then I thought, 'Oh no, this floor is gonna fall through.' So then we stored them down in the pole barn. And we had probably 60, 65 tubs of tickets," Marge Selbee told the outlet.
After winning millions of dollars, they decided to invite their family to share in their windfall selling shares in the corporation for $500 apiece. By the time it was 2005, Jerry's club had almost 25 members. Those willing to try their luck included three state troopers, a factory manager, and a bank vice president. Although the Michigan game sadly closed down soon, it didn't stop them from playing for too long. They soon realized that there was a game in Massachusetts that also presented some favorable odds. This is when Jerry and Marge began driving 900 miles to Massachusetts every time there was a rolldown, and the stint continued for more than six years.
It was finally in 2011 that the Boston Globe got a tip and discovered that in Massachusetts locations, Cash Winfall tickets were being sold at an extraordinary volume. Later the Massachusetts state treasurer shut down the Cash Winfall game and called for an investigation. Upon finding out that they were dealing with nerds and not criminals Greg Sullivan one of the officers said "I was dumbfoundedly amazed that these math-nerd geniuses had found a way legally to win a state lottery and make millions from it."
The officers pointed out that the state too made a lot of money, $120 million to be precise, and with that, the couple's fruitful adventure came to an end. But the story turned them into legends, and even inspired a Hollywood comedy titled "Jerry and Marge Go Large."
The story was so very intriguing that it was later made into a film back in 2022 directed by David Frankel and written by Brad Copeland. In the film, the roles of Jerry and Marge Selbee are played by stars Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening. The film later premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 15, 2022, and was released on Paramount+ on June 17, 2022.
