Mathematician Cheats the Lottery

\newcommand\fsnmod{\fS_n\mathrm{-mod}} \newcommand\fS{\mathfrak{S}} \newcommand{\thin}{\mathrm{thin}} \newcommand{\KR}{\mathrm{KR}} \newcommand{\Exp}{\mathrm{Exp}} \newcommand{\sheaf}{\mathrm{sheaf}} \newcommand{\Aut}{\mathrm{Aut}} \newcommand{\Ind}{\mathrm{Ind}} \newcommand{\bad}{\mathrm{bad}} \newcommand{\cyc}{\mathrm{cyc}} \newcommand{\red}{\mathrm{red}} \newcommand{\im}{\mathrm{im}\,} \newcommand{\MBC}{\mathrm{M}_{\mathrm{BC}}} \newcommand{\ldp}{\lessdot^\prime} \newcommand{\simp}{\mathrm{simp}} \newcommand{\Ch}{\mathrm{Ch}} \newcommand{\ch}{\mathrm{ch}} \newcommand{\gr}{\mathrm{gr}} \newcommand{\FCH}{F^{\mathrm{Ch}}} \newcommand{\HCH}{H^{\mathrm{Ch}}} \newcommand{\FCS}{F^{\mathrm{CS}}} \newcommand{\HCS}{H^{\mathrm{CS}}} \newcommand{\FKH}{F^{\mathrm{Kh}}} \newcommand{\FVAND}{F^{\mathrm{Vand}}} \newcommand{\HVAND}{H_F^{\mathrm{Vand}}} \newcommand{\NBC}{\mathrm{NBC}} \newcommand{\BCC}{\mathrm{BC}} \newcommand{\cell}{\mathrm{cell}} \newcommand{\Kh}{\mathrm{Kh}} \newcommand{\hb}{\mathrm{hb}} \newcommand{\RGF}{\mathrm{RA}} \newcommand{\rank}{\mathrm{rank}} \newcommand{\Ob}{\mathrm{Ob}} \newcommand{\Decat}{\mathrm{Decat}} \newcommand{\qdim}{q\mathrm{dim} } \newcommand{\op}{\mathrm{op}} \newcommand{\Br}{\mathrm{Br}} \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}} \newcommand{\Hom}{\mathrm{Hom}} \newcommand{\Int}{\mathrm{Int}} \newcommand{\Funct}{\mathrm{Funct}} \newcommand{\OP}{\mathcal{OP}} \newcommand{\PP}{\mathcal{P}} \newcommand{\rk}{\mathrm{rk}} \newcommand{\qrk}{q\mathrm{rk}} \newcommand{\N}{\mathbb{N}} \newcommand{\R}{\mathbb{R}} \newcommand{\Z}{\mathbb{Z}} \newcommand{\Q}{\mathbb{Q}} \newcommand{\C}{\mathbb{C}} \newcommand{\F}{\mathbb{F}} \newcommand{\zp}{\mathbb{Z}_p} \newcommand{\pinch}{\hspace{.5mm}\usebox\opinch\hspace{.5mm}} \newcommand{\vcplx}{\mathcal{C}^*(D,\vec{x})} \newcommand{\vkcplx}{\mathcal{C}^k(D,\vec{x})} \newcommand{\vhcplx}{\mathcal{H}^*(D,\vec{x})} \newcommand{\vkhcplx}{\mathcal{H}^k(D,\vec{x})} \newcommand{\tvcplx}{\mathcal{C}^*(T_{2,n},\vec{x})} \newcommand{\tvkcplx}{\mathcal{C}^k(T_{2,n},\vec{x})} \newcommand{\tvhcplx}{\mathcal{H}^*(T_{2,n},\vec{x})} \newcommand{\tvkhcplx}{\mathcal{H}^k(T_{2,n},\vec{x})} \newcommand{\vsdiag}{[\![D]\!]} \newcommand{\inv}{\mathrm{inv}} \newcommand{\fix}{\mathrm{fix}} \newcommand{\sgn}{\mathrm{sgn}} \newcommand{\bott}{\mathrm{bot}} \newcommand{\topp}{\mathrm{top}} \newcommand{\ins}{\mathrm{ins}} \newcommand{\Zndiag}{\Z^n_+\mathrm{-}\mathbf{diag}} \newcommand{\Mor}{\mathrm{Mor}} \newcommand{\Cone}{\mathrm{Cone}} \newcommand{\wtilde}[1]{{\stackrel{\sim}{\smash{#1}\rule{0pt}{1.1ex}}}} \newcommand{\mc}[1]{\mathcal{#1}} \definecolor{forest}{rgb}{0.03, 0.47, 0.19} \newcommand{\ACcom}[1]{{\textcolor{forest}{{\sf AC:\ }#1}}} \newcommand{\Zmod}{\Z\textbf{-mod}} Ok so the title of the post contains at least two lies (sorry), but its also kind of true. There is a story in the news [(here)](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jerry-and-marge-selbee-how-a-retired-couple-won-millions-using-a-lottery-loophole-60-minutes-2019-06-09/) about a man from Michigan with a bachelors degree in mathematics (so there was the first lie) who recognized a flaw in the Michigan state lottery (and there is the second). I won't go through all of the details here, but to me it seems that what he did was notice that, for a specific lottery game called Winfall and a specific feature called Rolldown, that the lottery was paying out more than it was making. So really he did not cheat the system, the system cheated itself. He just happened to be the only player clever enough to notice. Each time the Winfall announced they were having a rolldown event, he would invest a large sum of money. For example, for one rolldown, he invested 515,000 USD and got back 853,000 USD. I like the idea that a mathematician should be able to identify unique investment opportunities better than the average human, however in the past I have not seen this to be the case. This story did give me a bit of hope, yet in the end it was more of a mistake the lottery had made than an amazing mathematical insight. Still, good job Jerry, I am inspired by your attention to detail. # As I get older, I get more and # more interetsed in investing. I like the idea that a mathematician should be able to identify unique investment # opportunities better than the average human, however in the past I have not seen this to be the case. This story # did give me a bit of hope, yet in the end it was more of a mistake the lottery had made than an amazing mathematical insight. # Maybe I'm not giving Jerry enough credit, but I am sure he is happier with his millions of dollars than he would be # in receiving praise from a math blogger.