: Jerry calculated that during a rolldown, the expected value of a $1 ticket rose above $1. By buying tickets in massive quantities—often $600,000 or more per event—he could mathematically guarantee a positive return.
The report below covers both the real-life events of and the 2022 film adaptation, Jerry and Marge Go Large . Executive Summary: The Selbee Lottery Venture Jerry and Marge Go Large
: 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 : Jerry calculated that during a rolldown, the
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" Executive Summary: The Selbee Lottery Venture : Winnings
The couple did not keep the discovery to themselves. They formed a corporation, , and invited family, friends, and neighbors to invest.
In 2003, Jerry Selbee, a math degree holder and former convenience store owner, discovered a flaw in a new Michigan lottery game called .
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.