This Romanian scientist won the lottery 14 times and reveals his genius trick

Winning the lottery is often seen as pure luck, but one Romanian mathematician proved it could be cracked with logic. Stefan Mandel didn’t just win once—he won 14 times, thanks to a clever formula that changed the rules of the game forever.

From scraping by to scooping millions

Imagine being so good with numbers that you beat the lottery—not just once, but 14 times. That’s exactly what Stefan Mandel, a Romanian economist and self-confessed “philosopher-mathematician”, managed to do. Back in the late 1960s, under Romania’s oppressive communist regime, Mandel was earning just enough to feed his family. With a monthly salary equivalent to around £60 today, something had to give.

But instead of trying his luck like the rest of us with a hopeful pencil and a flutter of crossed fingers, he devised a formula—a very real mathematical trick that legally outwitted the lottery system.

A legal loophole that made history

Fast forward to the 1980s. Mandel had already won the lottery a couple of times in Romania (enough to get himself out of the country, for starters), but the real jackpot came when he turned his sights abroad. His big moment came in the United States, when he targeted the Virginia State Lottery.

The winning numbers? 8, 11, 13, 15, 19, 20. But Mandel didn’t just scoop the top prize of over 27 million dollars. Thanks to his meticulous system, he also netted six second prizes, 132 third prizes, and 135 smaller wins—worth an extra 900,000 dollars. Not bad for a day’s work.

His strategy? Pure maths and old-school logistics. Mandel’s method wasn’t based on lucky charms or psychic cats. It involved identifying lotteries where the jackpot was three times higher than the number of possible number combinations. Then, with the help of investors, he would purchase every single number combination—sometimes printing the tickets himself. Once the draw was over, he was virtually guaranteed a win.

The maths behind the magic

Now, before you dust off your scientific calculator, it’s worth noting that Mandel’s approach relied on a combination of careful calculation, loophole navigation, and timing. His genius wasn’t just in understanding probability—it was in understanding the system.

For example, smaller national lotteries at the time had fewer number combinations, meaning buying every possible ticket wasn’t completely out of reach. Nowadays, with tighter regulations, such a feat would be impossible. In fact, his exploits helped push lottery authorities to tighten their rules, making sure no one could repeat his success.

What happened next?

After conquering the lottery world, Mandel didn’t stick around to tempt fate. He took his well-earned winnings and relocated to a tropical island in the South Pacific, living out what one can only assume is a maths nerd’s dream of peace and paradise. And no, he hasn’t attempted the lottery since. When you’ve cracked the code once, why go back?

Lessons from a lotto legend

So, what can we learn from Stefan Mandel? Well, unless you’ve got a few hundred thousand pounds to spare, a lot of patience, and a law degree to check the fine print, copying his method isn’t exactly advisable these days.

But the principle behind his success is inspiring in itself: when life gives you lemons—or a monthly salary that won’t even stretch to a decent takeaway—find a smarter way to squeeze them.

Sometimes, the answer isn’t in blind luck but in spotting the cracks in the system and having the nerve (and spreadsheets) to go for it.