Man Uses Loophole To Win Lottery 14 Times, But Then It Backfires On Him | 1490 WMRN-AM (2024)

Man Uses Loophole To Win Lottery 14 Times, But Then It Backfires On Him | 1490 WMRN-AM (1)

Most people can only dream of winning the lottery, so it is crazy to hear of lucky folks who have hit jackpots not just once, but multiple times. Well Stefan Mandel is one of those people, winning a whopping 14 times, but for him, luck didn't have much to do with it. That's because Mandel found a way to beat the system, a legal loophole he exploited to make millions of dollars, only to have it all backfire and crash down on him.

Born in Romania, Mandel grew tired of making the equivalent of $88 a month, so he worked out a system that would see him play, and win, the lottery. It worked, and he quickly made $3,000 - enough to leave the country. He went to Australia, where his system also worked, scoring him a dozen more lottery wins.

So what was his secret? Mandel looked for lotteries that had jackpots for more than the amount it would take to buy a ticket for every number combination. He'd hire a team, print millions of lottery tickets and then be assured a big win, and at the time, it was all legal, but it didn't take long for officials in Australia to catch on and ban ticket buying in bulk.

That's when Mandel set his sights on America, noticing that in Virginia, the lottery had players pick six out numbers of just 44, as opposed to other states, which had 54 numbers. When the jackpot reached $27 million, Stefan set his staff of 16 people out to get a ticket for every combination. After spending $7 million, they were only able to do 90% of the numbers due to a store stopping them from buying more, but luck was on their side and one of their tickets had the winning numbers.

However, luck can be finicky, as it was with Mandel. Lotto officials got wise to his strategy and sued him. The four-year long legal battle that followed cost Mandel all his winnings. He was cleared of any wrongdoing but the financial burden was so heavy that he had to declare bankruptcy. His lottery system was also banned in the U.S.

These days, he is living on the remote tropical island of Vanuatu off the coast of Australia. He's retired from playing the lottery.

Man Uses Loophole To Win Lottery 14 Times, But Then It Backfires On Him | 1490 WMRN-AM (2024)

FAQs

Man Uses Loophole To Win Lottery 14 Times, But Then It Backfires On Him | 1490 WMRN-AM? ›

Dream of winning a lottery

What is the formula for the lottery algorithm? ›

Understand the calculations involved.

To find the odds of winning any lottery, divide the number of winning lottery numbers by the total number of possible lottery numbers. If the numbers are chosen from a set and the order of the numbers doesn't matter, use the formula. r ! ( n − r ) !

Is there a mathematical way to win the lottery? ›

There is only one known way to ensure winning the jackpot. That is to buy at least one lottery ticket for every possible number combination. For example, one has to buy 13,983,816 different tickets to ensure to win the jackpot in a 6/49 game.

How to play lottery to win? ›

To improve your odds, buy as many tickets as you can. Pick lotteries with a low ticket cost and frequent drawings, such as those that have drawings one or two times a week. You can also try joining a pool where lots of people chip in on tickets, then share the jackpot if someone wins.

How to win lottery in the UK? ›

  1. Choose Lotteries with Better Odds. Not all lotteries are born equal, meaning some are easier to strike it rich in than others. ...
  2. Join a Syndicate. It's a known fact that 20% of all lottery jackpots are won by syndicates. ...
  3. Make System Bets. Why play only 6 numbers when you can play 7. ...
  4. Pick Random Numbers. ...
  5. Bet online.

What are the 6 most common winning lottery numbers? ›

The most frequently drawn winning numbers from the main barrel are 17, 7, 11, 2, 3 and 9, while the least frequently drawn are 33, 15, 34, 31, 26 and 1. The most frequently drawn Powerball numbers are 19 and 2, while the least frequently drawn Powerball numbers are 14 and 16.

What is the best strategy for picking lottery numbers? ›

In particular, pick random numbers. If you pick your favorite number or the day of your birthday like the 7th, which is the day of the next drawing, many people can be doing the same and that puts a lot of numbers between 1 and 31. Picking your own numbers doesn't change the odds of winning.

Is there a trick to winning the lottery? ›

“The only way to really increase the odds of winning any lottery is to buy more tickets. The more tickets you buy, the more chances you have to win,” Kapoor said.

Has anyone ever won Mega Millions with Quick Pick? ›

11. $536 Million (Indiana) On July 8, 2016, an Indiana couple won this mega jackpot after buying 5 Quick Pick tickets on a road trip. The winning family was able to remain anonymous by accepting their prize through a law firm in the state.

Which number wins the lottery most often? ›

Most common main numbers
  • 10: Drawn 63 times.
  • 3: Drawn 62 times.
  • 17: Drawn 60 times.
  • 46: Drawn 59 times.
  • 14: Drawn 59 times.
  • 31: Drawn 58 times.
  • 64: Drawn 58 times.
  • 8: Drawn 57 times.
Mar 20, 2024

Where do most lottery winners live? ›

New York state is home to the most Mega Millions jackpot winners, with 42 winning tickets sold in the Empire State. California follows with 36 winning tickets sold in-state.

What are the odds of winning the lottery if you buy 100 tickets? ›

Buying 100 tickets would cut your odds from 1 in 302.6 million to roughly 1 in 3.026 million. If you want to purchase nearly every possible number combination, that would set you back about $600 million.

Who figured out how to win the lottery? ›

Stefan Mandel, a Romanian-Australian economist, developed a formula that's allowed him to win the lottery 14 times. It's a six-step process designed to hack the system.

Is there a way to predict winning lottery numbers? ›

Lotteries are designed to be random and fair, and each number combination has the same odds of winning, regardless of past results. Here's why looking for patterns in previous winning numbers is not a viable strategy: Independence of Draws: Each lottery draw is an independent event.

Is there a strategy to winning the lottery? ›

Aside from purchasing multiple lottery tickets with different number combinations, there is no way to increase your chance of winning the lottery with one ticket, Clotfelter said. However, it can help to let the computer pick your numbers instead of choosing them yourself.

How do lottery machines generate random numbers? ›

The reading is expressed as a long number of code; that number gives the generator its true randomness. The random number is called the seed, and the seed is plugged into the algorithm, a pseudorandom number generator called the Mersenne Twister. At the end, the computer spits out the winning lottery numbers.

What is the pattern of the lottery numbers? ›

Can you spot patterns by studying winning lottery numbers? Glickman also debunks the idea that studying past lottery number winners can help you spot patterns. “There is no pattern,” he said. “It's entirely random.”

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