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A mathematician revealed the secret behind his remarkable 14 lottery victories. The 91-year-old employed mathematical probabilities and strategic patterns to repeatedly secure the top prize.
The chances of scooping the lottery are widely acknowledged to be remote. Selecting the correct numbers is generally considered pure luck.
Nevertheless, Romanian-born Stefan Mandel discovered a technique to overcome these astronomical odds. Growing up in hardship in 1934, he was unable to formally study his mathematics, instead working as an accountant on a £88 monthly wage.
During his spare time at weekends, though, he devoted himself to his mathematical interests, particularly focusing on the Fibonacci sequence. One evening, while watching a lottery draw on the television, something caught his attention.
Stefan started recognising underlying patterns. According to Spanish publication El Español, he dedicated years to analysing potential combinations, ultimately creating a technique he termed “combinatorial condensation” featuring a numerical selection algorithm.
Through this approach, he managed to accurately forecast a minimum of five numbers from the draw, with merely two remaining down to luck. Consequently, the odds were slashed from millions to several thousand.
In March 1965, he joined forces with an associate who supplied funding for an 80/20 share of any winnings. Their initial gamble paid off handsomely.
They claimed the jackpot alongside multiple secondary prizes, totalling $20,000. Whilst Stefan’s portion of the winnings totalled a modest $4,000, he had successfully demonstrated that his mathematical approach could work.
Some years afterwards, Mandel made the move to Australia where he established a lottery investment firm after persuading numerous backers to join him.
The fundamental principle was straightforward: provided the overall expenditure on tickets stayed beneath the jackpot sum, returns were guaranteed.
By 1982, Stefan’s operation had secured 12 Australian jackpots, accumulating millions and catching the eye of Government officials. In 1989, Mandel moved to Virginia in the United States alongside his family, attracted by the state’s lottery framework, which contained several advantageous loopholes.
The system permitted unlimited ticket acquisitions, home printing, and featured a selection of “only” 44 numbers rather than the standard 54. This last element proved pivotal as it reduced the possible combinations from 25 million down to a mere seven million.
By February 1992, the Virginia jackpot had swelled beyond $27 million. Stefan then mobilised 2,500 backers, gathering more than $9 million and succeeding in printing virtually every possible combination across his tickets.
As a result, Stefan claimed not only the jackpot but also a further $6 million through smaller prizes, totalling $33 million in returns from a $9 million outlay. “Using maths correctly guarantees a fortune,” he remarked at the time.
Stefan’s endeavours attracted international media attention and also caught the eye of the FBI and CIA. However, much like their Australian counterparts, they found no illegality in his actions.
The former accountant’s adventures did trigger changes in the lottery system though. Limits were placed on ticket purchases per person, sales were restricted to over-the-counter transactions, large investments were prohibited, and the randomisation systems were improved.
These modifications put an end to Stefanl’s winning streak. He tried to duplicate his method in other countries, including Israel and the UK, but was unsuccessful due to stricter regulations.
He eventually settled down on an island in Vanuatu, in the South Pacific, where he dabbled in property development. However, this venture didn’t go as planned as he has been embroiled in a legal dispute with his investors for years.
As reported by The Independent, here’s the 6-step formula for how Stefan managed to make serious cash from the lottery:
- Calculate the total number of possible combinations. (For a lottery that requires you to pick six numbers from one to 40, that means 3,838,380 combinations)
- Find lotteries where the jackpot is three times or more the number of possible combinations.
- Raise enough cash to pay for each combination. (Mandel rounded up 2,524 investors for his push to win the Virginia lottery)
- Print out millions of tickets with every combination. (This used to be legal. Now you would have to buy the tickets right from the store)
- Deliver the tickets to authorised lottery dealers.
- Win the cash. And don’t forget to pay your investors. (Mandel pocketed only $97,000 [£74,000] after a $1.3m [£1m] win in 1987)
