uniladtech homepage
  • News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
Man who won the lottery 14 times reveals simple math he used to hack the system

Home> News

Published 12:30 23 Jul 2024 GMT+1

Man who won the lottery 14 times reveals simple math he used to hack the system

He beat the 1 in 300 million odds not just once but 14 times

Rebecca Oakes

Rebecca Oakes

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover
Featured Image Credit: CBS / mikroman6/Getty
Money
News

Advert

Advert

Advert

For most of us, winning the lottery is a mere pipe dream. After all, you are four times more likely to be struck by lightning.

But one man has won it a whopping 14 times. And it's all down to a mathematic equation.

Stefan Mandel is a Romanian-Australian mathematician.

When it came to beating the one in 300 million odds of winning the jackpot, he didn't leave it up to luck and picking numbers at random like the rest of us.

Advert

Instead, he used his mathematical prowess to work out the combination of numbers that would give him the best chance of raking in the big bucks.

Stefan Mandel won the lottery 14 times (Twitter/Stefan Mandel)
Stefan Mandel won the lottery 14 times (Twitter/Stefan Mandel)

Enlisting the help of a group of investors and a syndicate called the International Lotto Fund, Mandel then targeted lotteries in the US, Romania and Australia.

The money-making method went on to earn him a massive $27 million jackpot prize, as well as $900,000 in additional prizes for second, third and fourth place wins back in 1992.

But, while the scheme wasn't technically illegal, it brought about a whole load of suspicions, and Mandel and the ILF were investigated by the CIA and FBI.

They were both ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing.

So, how exactly did he do it? Well, that's all down to what Mandel says is 'simple math.'

He called his number-picking algorithm 'combinatorial condensation.'

This rested on the price of buying enough lottery tickets to play every possible combination being less than the jackpot prize.

His methods sparked the US to establish new lottery laws (mikroman6/Getty Images)
His methods sparked the US to establish new lottery laws (mikroman6/Getty Images)

Eventually, the US established laws banning punters from buying tickets in bulk, as well as the use of computer-generated tickets so nobody could replicate this method.

Following his big win, Mandel entered a lengthy legal battle and while he was acquitted of the crimes he'd been accused of, the ordeal caused him a bunch of financial trouble.

The big-hitter would later declare bankruptcy in 1995 and go on to spend the next decade running various investment schemes.

Nowadays, Mandel spends his time on the beach on a remote tropical island off the coast of Australia called Vanuatu after having declared himself 'retired from the lottery' altogether.

"I’m a man who takes risks, but in a calculated way," he told Romanian newspaper Bursa back in 2012.

"Trimming my beard is a lottery: There is always the possibility that I’ll cut myself, get an infection in my blood and die — but I do it anyway. The chances are in my favor."

Choose your content:

2 days ago
  • Anna Moneymaker / Staff / Getty
    2 days ago

    Sam Altman has signed up to procedure that is '100% lethal' but will preserve his brain forever

    One step closer to making billionaires immortal

    Science
  • Getty Stock
    2 days ago

    Scientists discover 'world's oldest octopus' is actually something else entirely

    Researchers unveiled 'hidden anatomical characteristics'

    Science
  • Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images
    2 days ago

    These critical roles for young people are evaporating due to AI and it's just the beginning

    Entry level jobs could now be at risk

    News
  • Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images
    2 days ago

    Florida Attorney General launches official investigation into OpenAI and ChatGPT

    The Florida Attorney General announced the plans on social media

    News
  • How one man 'hacked the system' to win the lottery an unbelievable 14 times
  • Woman with math PhD won the lottery four times and earned over $20M after seemingly cracking the algorithm
  • Man who created the internet reveals why he gave the world wide web away for free
  • Forbes reveals MrBeast's earnings as he tops the list of 2025's highest earning creators