Lotto No. 14 First Prize, the Genius Economist Stefan Mandel Who Claimed It Through Mathematics, Not Luck

로또 1등에 당첨되는 확률은 번개에 맞는 것보다 낮습니다. 그럼에도 불구하고, 이 거의 불가능한 행운을 14번이나 이룬 사람이 있습니다. 그는 루마니아 출신의 경제학자 스테판 만델입니다. 만델은 단순한 운에 의존하지 않고, 치밀한 수학적 계산과 시스템의 허점을 이용한 전략으로 로또를 '행운의 게임'에서 '확률의 게임'으로 변화시켰습니다. 이제 아래에서 하나씩 확인해보겠습니다.

The odds of winning the Lotto first prize are lower than being struck by lightning. Yet, there is a man who has achieved this near-impossible luck a staggering 14 times. He is Stefan Mandel, an economist from Romania. He did not rely on blind luck. With meticulous mathematical calculations and strategies that exploited the loopholes in the system, he transformed the lottery, which was once in the realm of ‘luck,’ into a game of ‘probability.’

 

A Salary of $88: The First Step to Escape Poverty

In 1950s communist Romania, Mandel’s salary was a mere $88. To escape poverty, he turned his attention to the lottery, but his approach was unique. Diving into numerous probability papers, he developed an algorithm to maximize the chances of winning second place by correctly guessing 5 out of 6 numbers. After securing investments from friends to put his plan into action, he was fortunate enough to win first place, using the money to escape Romania and settle in Australia.

 

Buying All Combinations: Mandel’s 6-Step Winning Formula

 

In Australia, where there were no restrictions on lottery purchases, Mandel devised an even bolder plan: to buy ‘every possible combination of lottery tickets.’ He only executed this strategy when the jackpot prize was more than three times the total cost of buying all combinations. He gathered investors to raise funds and built an automated system with computers and printers, resulting in 12 first-place wins in Australia throughout the 1980s.

Mandel’s 6-Step Formula

1. Calculate the total number of possible number combinations.
2. Find lotteries where the jackpot prize is more than three times the total ticket purchase cost.
3. Gather sufficient funds from investors to purchase each combination.
4. Use computer algorithms to print the lottery tickets for all combinations.
5. Submit the printed millions of lottery tickets to official retailers to complete the purchase.
6. Collect the winnings and share the profits with the investors.

The ‘Virginia Lottery Sweep’ That Shook America

 

Mandel’s challenge extended to the United States. He targeted the Virginia Lottery, which had a relatively low number of combinations at 7.05 million. In 1992, as the jackpot soared to $27 million, he raised funds from 2,524 investors and shipped 7 million printed lottery tickets to the U.S. Although he could only purchase about 6.4 million tickets due to some retailers opting out, Lady Luck was on his side. He ultimately won first place, taking home approximately $28 million, including the jackpot of $27 million and additional prizes.

The End of a Legend and What Remains

 

After this unprecedented event, Mandel was investigated by 14 agencies, including the FBI and CIA, but his methods were concluded to be legal. However, after distributing profits to numerous investors and enduring a lengthy legal battle, he filed for bankruptcy in 1995 and left the lottery scene. He is now said to be living a quiet life on an island in the South Pacific. Following the Mandel case, most countries introduced regulations to prevent a single person from purchasing all combinations, and he remains the first and last person to have beaten the lottery system with mathematics in history.