A Michigan couple turned basic math skills into a $26 million fortune by using a little-known lottery loophole, according to an expert in mathematics.
Professor Tim Chartier of Davidson College explained how Jerry and Marge Selbee, high school sweethearts, used a smart strategy to legally “hack” the system. Their story gained attention after they figured out how to benefit from a feature in certain lottery games known as a “rolldown.”
In a rolldown, if no one wins the jackpot, the prize money is redistributed to players who match fewer numbers. This boosts the payout for lower-tier winners. The Selbees noticed that the Cash Winfall game had this feature in 2003. Jerry, who has a strong background in math, realized that by buying large volumes of tickets during rolldown periods, they could turn a profit.
“They didn’t beat the odds, they figured them out,” said Chartier in an interview arranged by casino.ca and reported by The U.S. Sun.
The Selbees spent about $600,000 per play, up to seven times a year, purchasing tickets in bulk at convenience stores in Massachusetts. Over the years, they earned around $26 million using this strategy, applying the same math-based approach to other lottery games with similar conditions.
The Massachusetts State Lottery ended the Cash Winfall game in 2012 due to concerns that players like the Selbees were exploiting the system.
According to Chartier, some lotteries today still have payout structures that could allow for similar strategies. If jackpot money goes unclaimed, it may be redistributed to lower-tier winners, creating opportunities for sharp-eyed players.
Chartier also described a more complex method of “hacking” the lottery by identifying flaws in the system’s design. Though modern lotteries are highly secure and designed to be random, minor imperfections can occur.
For instance, if the mixing of balls isn’t perfectly even, or if one ball weighs slightly more or less than the others, it might be drawn more frequently. This kind of imbalance, while rare today, has been exploited in the past.
One example occurred in 1980, when a group rigged the Pennsylvania Lottery by inserting weighted balls into the machine, skewing the draw in their favor. While tampering like this is illegal and nearly impossible now, it shows how flaws in physical systems can affect outcomes.
Modern lottery systems have since added strict controls. Powerball machines cost $55,000 and are kept in locked vaults under constant surveillance. The balls are weighed to tight tolerances and kept in dark cases. Even lottery officials don’t know which set of balls will be used until shortly before the draw.
Despite these measures, Chartier admitted that no system is completely flawless. However, the average player will likely find it difficult, if not impossible, to exploit modern games.
Other lottery experts have also shared insights with The U.S. Sun, including tips on which U.S. states offer the best chances and reasons why winners delay claiming their prizes.
While winning the lottery remains a long shot, the Selbees’ story proves that with a bit of math and strategy, it’s possible to beat the odds—at least for a while.
