In 2003, Jerry Selbee, 64, an expert in mathematics, had just retired from his number-crunching job at Kellogg’s cereal headquarters in Battle Creek.
Not knowing what to do with his retirement, he decided to visit the corner shop and try the lottery machine with his wife, Marge, 62, just to pass the time. “You can only do so much when retired like camping, pursuing a hobby, or things like that,” he told The Post.
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Being an expert in mathematics, Jerry managed to find a loophole in the system that allowed him to hit the jackpot. But it wasn’t just a few seconds of “figuring out” that led Jerry to this discovery. It took research and a thorough risk-to-reward analysis. “As long as nobody won other than me, it would be profitable,” he revealed.
“Regardless, it took me some trial and error to figure it all out.”
Soon after, Jerry realized that the trick was to bet more. The first time, he played $2,200 and lost $50. The second time, he put in $3,600 and won back $6,300. The third time, he bet $8,000 and got back $15,700. Jerry had now developed a system that actually worked and yielded consistent results.
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Learning that the more tickets you have, the better your chances of winning, while still abiding by the law, Jerry and Marge founded a legal corporation called GS Investment Strategies. The couple, along with family and about 32 friends, pooled their funds and later divided the lottery rewards equally.
Their early runs brought in up to 45% profits, for example, $120,000 in winnings from $60,000 worth of tickets. This level of profit continued for years, with investments eventually reaching as high as $720,000.
The retired couple played their last lottery in 2012, after which they decided to stop. However, every member and investor of the company was paid off, each one had made a healthy profit over time.
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Today, Jerry and Marge have returned to a quiet routine. They spend their days going out for breakfast and having coffee with friends. High school sweethearts, they’ve lived a peaceful life in Michigan, a small town of just 1,900 people. Together, they raised six children and ran a local convenience store on Main Street for 17 years before selling it.
In total, the couple made $8 million in profit before taxes, all of which they put to practical use like renovating their home, helping their children, and paying for their grandchildren’s education.
“The thing that I found really remarkable out of all of this was how nobody else seemed to grasp it,” said Jerry.
Their inspiring story was later turned into a film titled Jerry and Marge Go Large, starring Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening.
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