When it comes to lotto truths and fiction, it can be hard to find what is actually reality versus what is a tall tale. We looked at some lotto “facts” and put them to the test, so you won’t have to.
Fact(?) Lottery Winners end up poor and miserable – False 📛
If you read the news, whether it be online or through your local paper, it may feel like there are more depressing lottery stories out there than you think. But the reality is, most lottery winners are very happy after they hit the jackpot.
The Truth
So what’s with all the negative press? Well, the people you’re reading in the newspapers are usually people that like receiving attention. Most jackpot winners don’t like drama, so they don’t cause it. But if someone isn’t making a fool of themselves, then the press can’t follow them around and take pictures of their antics.
Fact(?) Running the numbers is a waste of time – False 📛
Some people may say that checking what the most popular numbers are on a lottery is a big waste of your time, but are they right? We looked at some lottery winners that won several times over and checked their strategies.
The Richard Lustig method: Play smaller jackpots and form a Syndicate is the solid advice of Richard Lusting, a 7-time jackpot winner from Florida. Richard was deep in debt 2 years ago until he discovered a secret method to winning bigger and better jackpots. Since then he’s won a total of 7 jackpots and written a book on how you can do the same!
The Math Mastermind method: In the 1990s, Mathematician Stefan Mandel managed to win the lottery a total of 14 times in various countries when he stumbled upon a formula for predicting the lottery. By using multiple combinations, he was able to secure jackpots in Europe, Australia and the US. Sadly his method was too good and lotteries since have put steps in place to ensure his lotto combination tactic can never be replicated again.
The ‘Just Plain Lucky’ method: Bill Morgan is a man who truly has made a pact with the angels. So much so that you’ll think his constant string of luck is beyond that of mere mortals. The Australian survived having no heartbeat for 14 minutes, bought a lottery ticket upon leaving the hospital that netted him $30,000 plus a brand new Toyota, and then, when recreating the moment for a local news network, scratched a second ticket that won $250,000! We don’t know how to crunch the numbers on that one, but if you’ve had a run of good luck today, you may need to buy a lottery ticket.
The Multi-Ticket method: Armand Paganelli managed to win a total of 16 times over the course of 2 years by playing multiple tickets at once. His New York method has earned him a fortune of $625,000 (£483,706) in jackpots from 2013 to 2014.
All Your Eggs in One Basket method: In 2019, Deborah Brown became the first person to win the same draw 30 times in one day. She bought 30 tickets to a small jackpot lottery valued at $5,000, using the same numbers for each ticket. Brown won the jackpot on all 30 tickets, netting her $150,000 (£112,000) in winnings.
The Truth
Deciding to watch the numbers and see what combinations are playing is a smart tactic that people should utilise more. It’s also a good way to find which numbers consistently don’t come up during a draw so you can either avoid them, or play them because they are overdue for some lotto love. This information is especially true for bonus numbers used, like the Mega Ball in Mega Millions or the Power Ball in well… Powerball. Stats have shown that in Mega Millions, the most popular Bonus number is often 15, 10 or 25, while the least popular numbers are 1, 20, 21 and 23. While Powerball likely numbers are 18 and 4, with less likely being 15 and 25 (in fact, 15 hasn’t been drawn in almost 2 years!).
Fact(?) You won’t win the lottery on your first try – False 📛
This piece of info has actually been debunked several times over in the past few years. We even covered a story about a first-time lotto winner LAST YEAR who went on to be a millionaire! With little experience in buying lottery tickets, you can end up picking a winner, even if you don’t know much about the game.
One millionaire who won £2.7M all the way back in 1995 actually advises new millionaires on what to expect after a big win. After 25 years, Elaine Thompson and her husband sit down with new winners and talk about their lottery experience and tell them the do’s and don’ts that got them through.
One piece of advice she always gives is to think calmly and rationally before making a purchase. What you may want to buy instantly may feel silly a few months down the line, so be practical with big spending and don’t feel that just because your pockets are now deep, that they are infinite.
The other piece of welcome advice after a win is to celebrate by going on holiday.