Stefan Mandel: the jackpot man

In February 1992, a jackpot was hit in the States in the National Lottery. The Romanian mathematician Stefan Mandel did it. Thanks to his mathematical calculations, the man won $30 million.

Mandel later became seriously interested in the gambling industry and even set up his own lottery syndicate.

Slumdog Millionaire Mandel

Stefan was never rich. But this Romanian knew perfect mathematics and its basic laws. Mandel realised that his knowledge would help him win the lottery. And so it was in 1992.

Combinatorial condensation came to Stefan’s aid. Romanian managed to create an algorithm for selecting numbers. Relying on it, Mandel was able to predict the result of an American lottery drawing with absolute certainty.

After he won, some changes were made to the game. For example, players were not allowed to fill out lottery tickets outside of designated areas. The lottery organizers suspected that Stefan had learned the secret of how to hit the jackpot. So they tried to make sure that no one else would be able to duplicate his feat.

On his way to victory

Mathematician Stephan Mandel had wanted to get rich ever since he was a child. He realised that the fastest way to do that was through the lottery. So from an early age, Stephan pursued his dream relentlessly.

In the 80s, he settled in Australia. There, he founded his own lottery syndicate. Mandel spent all day doing mathematical calculations. He regularly watched lottery draws on television. The scientist tried to understand how people won the jackpot. After all, he wanted to hit the jackpot, too.

He caught sight of a Virginia lottery broadcast. Stefan swore he would hit the jackpot. In order to do so, the man seriously engaged in the necessary calculations of winning combinations.

He bought a huge amount of office equipment. Mandel hoped that the powerful computers would become his reliable assistants.

By the way, Stephan lived in Australia. However, just before the lottery, the Romanian had moved to the United States. Using his computers, the mathematician printed millions of lottery tickets. The terms of the lottery allowed players to print them themselves. The tickets were filled out by everyone Mandel asked for them.

A lottery drawing was soon televised. A simple Romanian mathematician, Stefan Mandel, hit the jackpot of $30 million. Then the winner got into serious trouble.

Life after winning

Mandel’s win was viewed with great scepticism. Many accused the man of fraud. However, the investigation revealed that Stephan had not used any criminal enrichment schemes. He was simply good at maths and believed in himself.

After his phenomenal victory, Mandel took up business in earnest. He worked as a consultant and gave out advice to people on how to win the lottery. Naturally, Stephan took a handsome fee for his advice.

Some people accused him of cheating. They did not manage to win large sums of money. Mandel only shook his hands and blamed it all on a higher power.

In the mid-90s, the Romanian’s life began to hit a rough patch. He had financial problems. The man was declared bankrupt. He was then sued by the people of Israel, who felt cheated by the “lottery consultant”. Stephan Mandel was eventually sentenced to prison.

Today he lives on an exotic island near Vanuatu. The mathematician says he is no longer in the lottery business.