The couple did not keep the discovery to themselves. They formed a corporation, , and invited family, friends, and neighbors to invest.
: The process was grueling, involving driving across state lines, spending days printing hundreds of thousands of tickets, and manually sorting them for winners. Jerry and Marge Go Large
: Unlike typical lotteries where the jackpot grows indefinitely, Winfall had a "rolldown" feature. If the jackpot hit $5 million without a top-prize winner, the money "rolled down" to lower-tier winners (those who matched 3, 4, or 5 numbers). The couple did not keep the discovery to themselves
Jerry and Marge Selbee, a retired couple from Evart, Michigan, successfully exploited a mathematical loophole in state lottery games to gross and net nearly $8 million in profit over nine years. Their operation was entirely legal and relied on "basic arithmetic" rather than luck or fraud. 1. The Mathematical Loophole: The "Rolldown" : Unlike typical lotteries where the jackpot grows
: Winnings were used to renovate their home, fund the education of their children and grandchildren, and revitalize their small town. 3. Media Exposure and Film Adaptation
The operation was eventually exposed in 2011 by a Boston Globe investigation, which discovered the Selbees and a separate syndicate of MIT students were dominating the game.