“The Lottery Hackers”- Jason Fagone (11,000 words)

All I can say is wow. This story was wild. I cannot believe how this elderly couple was able to make millions off the lottery. It is just, wow. I never thought about playing the lottery like this and I cannot believe they were able to crack it. I have always hated statistics and probability, but maybe I should have paid a bit more attention. 

This article was well written. I especially liked how it was told like a story. We get to meet this hard working couple in their retirement age. Then we find out the husband, Jerry, is incredibly good at math and loves solving all kinds of puzzles. Then he finds the lottery. Suddenly the story is about the Selbees and the corporation they made to gamble big on flawed lottery games and their rivals. It was an incredible ride to read it. 

I think what I would like to steal is how well the author, Jason Fagone, crafted such an interesting story. He wrote it in a way that made it seem incredible. Instead of talking just numbers, Fagone took this seemingly ordinary couple and showed how they found a loophole and went with it. Fagone kept their characters the same, he did not try to paint them as criminals who scammed the system, but hardworking Americans who worked for their fortunes. 

This story was a great read and is a wild ride. I hope one day I’ll get bored enough to discover another lottery loophole.