outdated system
08/06/2023
Economist Stefan Mandel outwitted the system with an ingenious trick.
Everyone has probably dreamed of winning a lottery prize at some point, but the chances of that happening are very slim. In Austrian Lotto 6 in 45, the probability of winning the jackpot is around 1:8,145,060. However, a Romanian-Australian economist managed to win the jackpot 14 times. Stefan Mandel has cheated the system for this.
It all started in the 1960s. Mandel was earning poorly and was looking for new opportunities. “I needed a way to get money quickly,” said the economist in an interview with Australian TV. Born in Romania, he developed an algorithm that could predict five out of six winning numbers. And indeed: Mandel won the jackpot of around 19,000 euros and was able to use the money to move from Romania to Australia.
simple trick
The economist dove into the lottery and found a simple trick to make money. Mandel noticed that in some lotteries the jackpot was greater than the number of possible combinations. With the help of investors, he printed lottery tickets with every possible combination and won the jackpot 12 times in the 1980s.
Authorities slowly took notice of Mandel and tightened the rules. From then on, the lottery expert focused on a single lottery – the Virginia Lottery in the US. The jackpot was three times bigger than the possible combinations. In 1992, after 30 computers and 12 printers were in use day and night, Mandel was able to earn $27 million.
Although his actions were legal, Mandel was sued and had to declare bankruptcy in 1995. Today he lives a simple life on the Pacific island of Vanuatu.