Photo: HayDmitriy/Depositphotos
In the 1980s and 1990s, Stefan Mandel turned playing the lottery into an art form.
The Romanian-Australian economist managed to win the lottery an astounding 14 times.
Everything he did was perfectly legal and all it took was some simple calculations.
Photo: HayDmitriy/Depositphotos
And, in fact, his first win allowed him to settle his family down in Australia.
While living there, he continued playing the lottery and developed an ingenious system.
Mandel realized that sometimes purchasing enough tickets to cover every combination cost less than the potential jackpot.
Photo: zentilia/Depositphotos
All he needed to do was raise enough capital to buy the tickets.
While in Australia, he won several jackpots, plus many other smaller prizes.
Mandel set up larger and larger syndicates, all while staying within the rules and regulations of the game.
This effectively blocked Mandel in those countries, so he set his sights further afield.
He began scouting the American lottery and scouted six state lotteries that would work.
Mandel opened a corporation, Pacific Financial Resources, and set up a trust called the International Lotto Fund.
However, the win drew attention, and Mandel was heavily investigated by the CIA and FBI.
But after a two-week investigation, everything was cleared up in Mandel’s favor.
To prevent this from happening again, lottery authorities changed their rules to block his system.
While Mandel ended up pocketing millions, his investors were left with far less than their promised payout.
Today, he leads a quiet life in the South Pacific on the island of Vanuatu.
I’m a man who takes risks, but in a calculated way, heshared.
The chances are in my favor.
