The couple won in various state lottery games numerous times. (Representative Photo)
Many of us dream about winning a millions in prize money in lottery to fulfill our dreams and live life king size. But luck plays a very important role when it comes to winning the jackpot. However, a couple in the United States have won $26 million (Rs 2.6 crore) in various state lottery games numerous times and their story is a big hit on the internet.
Jerry and Marge Selbee from Michigan, in the United States, used the money to renovate their home and helped in grandchildren's and great-grandchildren's educations, according to LA Times. They had six children and owned a Main Street convenience shop. Mr Selbee was in charge of the liquor and smokes, while Mrs Selbee was in charge of the books and the sandwiches.
Mr Selbee bought his first lottery ticket from a game called Winfall in 2003. But the couple also discovered a legal loophole in the game sold across the US.
The 83-year-old Mr Selbee told the New York Post that he found out about a feature called "rolldown" in the Winfall lottery - that the game's jackpot would roll down is no one won and the prize money was expanded.
"Unlike the Mega Millions games you've probably heard of where the jackpot keeps building until someone hits all six numbers and wins the big prize, in Winfall, if the jackpot reached $5 million, and no one matched all six numbers, all the money 'rolled down' to the lower-tier prize winners, dramatically boosting the payouts of those who matched five, four or three numbers," said Mr Selbee.
With a strong background in mathematics, Mr Selbee figures out that by law of averages, the weeks when roll downs were announced offered a guaranteed victory if enough tickets were bought. The couple bought thousands.
Mr Selbee holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Western Michigan University and worked a number-crunching role at Kellogg's cereal headquarters in Battle Creek, according to the Post.
"In my first play, I played $2,200, but I lost $50 on that play. So that showed me to compensate for the variance between the mathematical and the probability of getting more or less," he said.
The second time a rolldown was declared, he jumped into action. He bought Winfall tickets worth $3,600 and won $6,300. He then gambled $8,000 and nearly doubled his money, the outlet further said.
Jerry and Marge Selbee soon began to play for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Mr Selbee established GS Investment Strategies. He displayed stacks of record books that chronicled their victories.
The last time they played Winfall was 2012, when the game was discontinued.