The plot of Paramount+’s Jerry and Marge Go Large, which is based on the real-life experiences of Jerry and Marge Selbee, follows a retired couple from a small-town in Michigan who win millions after finding a mathematical lottery loophole that is entirely legal. Brad Copeland met with the Selbees, their family, and friends in their 1,900-person hometown of Evart, Michigan, before writing the screenplay. The real-life high school sweethearts, who will celebrate 65 years of marriage this fall, even spent a week with actors Bryan Cranston (Jerry) and Annette Bening (Marge) from the film.
After Jason Fagone of The Huffington Post published his article titled “The Lottery Hackers” in 2018, which served as the basis for Copeland’s script, The Selbees’ remarkable tale attracted widespread attention. Jerry learned about a brand-new Michigan lottery game called “Winfall” in 2003 after retiring from his position as a worker at a Kellogg’s cereal factory and selling a convenience store that he later ran. Unlike other games, this one had a “roll-down” feature that distributed the prize money to less fortunate winners if no one had a perfect ticket, as opposed to a progressive jackpot.
Jerry, who graduated from Western Michigan University with a degree in mathematics, quickly calculated the odds and discovered that if he purchased enough tickets, he would definitely win money. He put his hypothesis to the test, and it was successful. In January 2019, he said to 60 Minutes correspondent Jon Wertheim, “It’s just basic arithmetic.”. He didn’t immediately tell his wife about his lottery plans, but as soon as he revealed his discovery and the fact that he had already won five figures, she immediately agreed. They eventually established GS Investment Strategies LLC as a corporation, kept thorough records of their winnings, and invited a select group of friends to join them.
In May 2005, Michigan banned “Winfall,” but Jerry soon discovered a Massachusetts game called “Cash WinFall” with the same rules. The Selbees established a routine where they would travel about 700 miles and purchase hundreds of thousands of tickets from two nearby convenience stores. They would print and sort them for up to 10 days at a time, taking up to 10 hours per day. According to The Huffington Post, by 2009, winning tickets had brought in over $20 million in revenue, with a net profit of $5 million after costs and taxes.
However, the Selbees weren’t the only ones who had found the opening, and they soon started competing against some students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in addition to others. Purchasing irregularities for Cash WinFall tickets were reportedly known to the Massachusetts State Lottery. The state, however, declared they would phase out Cash WinFall within a year after a July 2011 Boston Globe investigative report exposed the money-making scheme, including that anyone who could spend at least $100,000 on tickets on a roll-down week was statistically assured a profit. They restricted lottery retailers’ daily ticket sales to $5,000 in the interim.
Jerry and Marge played Cash WinFall for the last time in January 2012. They earned almost $27 million from both states over a nine-year period, along with their “shareholders,” resulting in a profit before taxes of about $7.75 million. They never intended to lead a lavish lifestyle and instead used their money for useful purposes like helping their six children, 14 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren pay for their education. In addition to starting a loan company that provided opportunities for others to improve their businesses or buy homes, the Selbees, who viewed playing the lottery as a post-retirement hobby, also created a lottery.
Jerry later admitted to 60 Minutes that he didn’t find their story as remarkable as everyone else does, saying, “The only thing I found really remarkable is nobody else really seemed to grasp it.” Jerry modestly described their nearly $27 million haul as “satisfactory.”. ”.
