Meet the Man Who Won the Lottery 14 Times By Using Simple Math

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00:00Meet the man who won the lottery 14 times by using simple math.

00:04To many, winning the lottery is impossible to predict with odds of 1 in 302.5 million.

00:11Yet Stefan Mandel, a Romanian economist, won 14 times using what he called simple math.

00:17Mandel created the combinatorial condensation method in the 1980s.

00:22His approach, if a jackpot was large enough, buy tickets covering every possible combination.

00:26He established the International Lotto Fund, pooling investor money to purchase thousands of tickets.

00:33His first win in Romania netted $19,000, enabling his move to Australia.

00:39Mandel targeted smaller lotteries with fewer numbers, making complete coverage feasible.

00:44His biggest success was a $27 million win in 1992.

00:49Despite winning millions, he declared bankruptcy in 1995 after costly legal battles.

00:55Authorities investigated his operations but found no wrongdoing.

00:59The syndicate operated across multiple countries, meticulously planning ticket purchases.

01:05The CIA and FBI investigated, suspecting fraud, but these inquiries only contributed to his financial collapse.

01:13Mandel's success prompted regulatory changes.

01:16Modern lotteries now prohibit bulk purchasing, use computer-generated tickets, and have surveillance systems.

01:21His mathematical approach proved systematic thinking could overcome seemingly impossible odds under specific conditions,

01:29but also ensured no one else could replicate his success.

01:32Today's lottery systems specifically prevent Mandel's strategy.

01:36Jackpots have grown larger alongside the number of possible combinations,

01:40making it financially unfeasible to buy all combinations.

01:43State lottery commissions now actively work to prevent systematic exploitation,

01:49studying cases like Mandel's and implementing countermeasures.