The film starts in a small town called Evart where we see a married couple driving in their pickup truck to buy lottery tickets. They don’t hope for luck as they have found a way to mathematically predict winning the state lottery. But their story begins a little earlier. Every day Jerry wakes up with the thought of whether this will be his last working shift because he could get fired.

He works at a breakfast cereal factory where he manages one of the departments. One day while speaking in front of the board of directors, he hints that despite his age, he is still capable of managing his department. He has worked at the factory since he was young. However, the owners of the company just smirk at him, thanking him for his long service to the company.

They’ve long decided that it’s time for him to retire and have even shut down his conveyor. >> Well, yeah, but I I’m I don’t have to be. >> Come on, you served your time. These are your golden years. >> Eventually, Jerry is sent into retirement. You worked nights, right? >> That evening, he and his wife have a family dinner.

He doesn’t show his sadness. The family encourages him as not everyone can work for 42 years at the same job. Their children, wishing to cheer him up, give him a boat. Although Jerry is happy to receive such a gift, the sadness from losing his job doesn’t leave him. >> It’ll be an adjustment. You’ll find your way. >> Have you? Not really, but I don’t have a boat.

>> A month goes by and Jerry still hasn’t tried out the new boat. One morning, he grabs coffee at the local store and meets his friend Steve asking how much his bank account has increased. >> Speaking of cold, 2% gains. >> However, it turns out that the profit was minimal. His friend tries to convince Jerry to invest in stocks, promising higher returns.

However, Jerry is against it. He’s afraid of losing his money. For him, stocks are like gambling. He finally decides to launch his boat. However, due to inexperience and negligence, he forgets to set the handbrake and almost drowns his car. At the last moment, he manages to drive out of the water, but accidentally breaks the boat’s motor.

Feeling quite nervous, Jerry decides to calm down by having coffee at the nearest cafe. He hears from the cashier about the windfall lottery. >> Oh, it’s when the jackpot hits 2 million and nobody gets six numbers. Then the whole jackpot rolls down to the people who got three or four, whatever. >> And he comes across an advertisement for the state lottery, win.

After reading the rules, Jerry with his exceptional computational skills starts calculating the chances of success on a napkin and discovers that there’s a loophole in the lottery through which they can win. He tells Steve about his discovery, but Steve doesn’t believe his friend. He’s convinced that the game creators wouldn’t allow money to be taken so easily.

Then Jerry explains, >> “Now on a typical drawing, you’d have a 1 in 54 chance of hitting three out of six numbers and a 1 in,500 chance of hitting four. Odds are you lose every time.” >> When there’s only one number left to find for the win, the prize money exceeds the amount that needs to be spent on buying the lottery tickets.

Steve doesn’t believe him and says that it’s all crazy. Winning the lottery is impossible. Without consulting his wife, Jerry decides to test his hypothesis. He withdraws $2,000 from his bank account. >> Oh, it probably be 20% more than this, give or take. >> See you then. >> Okay. >> The next morning, thinking about the win, he goes to the local store and buys lottery tickets with the entire amount.

>> 2,000 windfall tickets. >> 2,000. >> Yes, ma’am. On the evening of the drawing day, Jerry sits down to check his tickets, but unfortunately, Marge returns home. He wanted to check his theory first and then tell her. She’s surprised that her husband is watching the lottery drawing, but Jerry turns off the TV, pretending to be indifferent, saying that it was on by accident.

When his wife leaves, Jerry turns the TV back on and writes down the drawn numbers. Sitting in the cafe, he checks his tickets and realizes that he is at a loss. During a gathering with guests, Jerry gets so absorbed in his thoughts about the lottery that he forgets to keep the conversation going and even confuses the card game they’re playing.

>> Full house. >> We’re playing Jin. Go. >> They say goodbye to their friends and Marge notices her husband’s strange behavior. While sitting with him on the porch, she starts a conversation about luck. Jerry suddenly realizes that the reason for the loss was the factor of luck that he hadn’t accounted for in his calculations.

He’s glad he figured out where he went wrong. The next day, he goes to the bank again, and chatting with the cashier, he explains that there should be more lottery tickets to eliminate the luck factor. This time, he withdraws $8,000, all his savings, and buys more lottery tickets. In the afternoon, Jerry has lunch in a cafe with his wife and friends who share that they’ve bought a few lottery tickets trying their luck.

Marge in turn says that she and her husband don’t like risky deals where you can lose money. Their friends agree with her, telling stories of crazy people who waste thousands of dollars on such games. Listening to his wife and friends, Jerry starts choking on his food, realizing that he himself is one of those crazy people.

The next day, while checking the lottery results, Jerry learns that he won $15,000. [Music] This is almost double the amount he spent on tickets. He can’t believe it. Returning home, he hides in the pantry and pulls out stacks of cash from his socks, which he hides in a popcorn tin. The next day, the family gathers in the backyard. He says nothing about the win.

However, his secret almost gets exposed by his granddaughter, who wanted a treat. Jerry barely manages to snatch the tin from the girl and hides the money in a cereal box. That same evening, Jerry’s secret is revealed by his wife. Misunderstanding her hints about the pantry, he accidentally lets slip that he’s been playing the lottery and winning.

But to his surprise, Marge doesn’t blame him for his involvement in gambling. >> I’m playing the lottery. >> Wow. >> On the contrary, she’s very glad that they now have their own entertainment. And finally, after many years, they’ll be able to have fun together and live for their pleasure. They’ve waited 40 years for their pension.

When the couple decides to buy tickets for all the 15,000 they have, they learn that the lottery has closed in their state. And now to buy tickets, they have to go to neighboring Massachusetts. They go to Steve’s office to find out the nearest lottery points for Windfall. Steve, hearing their conversation, also wants to join in. He offers 1,000 bucks.

The elderly couple is full of enthusiasm, and the difficulties don’t scare them. Waking up early, they set out on their journey. >> Have coffee. Having reached the neighboring state, Jerry and Marge stop at a gas station where they get lucky and find a lottery machine. >> Actually, I’m going to get them first. How can I help you? >> We’d like to buy 8,000 windfall tickets.

>> I’m going to get you first. >> Unfortunately, they have to stay until evening because the machine prints a,000 tickets per hour. The seller allows Jerry to operate the ticket printer himself. After checking into a hotel for the night, the couple watches the lottery results on TV and begins checking the 8,000 tickets they bought.

After working through them until morning, they calculate that they’ve won $21,000. >> They just said, “Congratulations.” >> On the way back, Marge has an idea to involve more people in the lottery to increase their winnings. Together with Jerry, they decide to start their own corporation.

To begin, they invite their friends and residents of the town they’ve known for many years. Some even offer alternative forms of payment, such as a quad bike instead of cash. The entry fee for each participant is only $500. The citizens like their idea, and the next time Jerry and Marge visit the gas station, they buy tickets for $40,000.

A seller named Bill is surprised by where the elderly couple got such money. Marge explains that they are professional lottery players, but this time printing the tickets will take until morning and the station will close. So Jerry suggests that Bill become a participant and earn some money. >> Bill, I’d like to introduce you to GS Investment Strategies.

I’m in. Can I be in? >> In the end, Bill also becomes a member of their investment club. He even tells his friends about it and they also become participants. >> Hey, I got two more shareholders. One of them’s got to rob his parents house real quick, but he’s definitely in 500 more tickets. >> That evening in the motel, they watch the program again and start checking the tickets, but not immediately.

[Music] The next morning, Bill arrives and says that there’s no need to count the tickets because after the drawing, the store will receive a print out of the number of winnings for the sold tickets. And only the two of them bought tickets. They find out that their amount has doubled and now totals 80,000.

Jerry and Marge don’t stop there and continue buying tickets with the full amount, doubling their savings and the investor’s savings after each lottery. >> Well, we doubled it. >> We doubled it. Meanwhile, at Harvard University, a student named Tyler is conducting research on the lottery, calculating the odds of success.

After running a simulation of the drawing, he concludes that there is a chance of a 100% win. The guy decides to gather money from the dorm students and play the lottery. He assures everyone that he is the first one to come up with this scheme, promising that they will all become legends who won the lottery. Everyone listens to him and agrees to chip in.

>> You’re not filling any out. >> No, I’m in charge. >> The next day, Jerry pulls out whole boxes of lottery tickets and stores them in the garage so that in case the tax authorities come, he can account for them. In the evening, he holds a meeting for the investors, wanting to show the profit figures.

However, people aren’t too interested in hearing about the numbers, and they all go to the dining room to eat. The next day, Jerry, Marge, and Steve gather at a cafe where they discuss buying tickets for $600,000, wanting to get as much money from the lottery as possible. Jerry realizes that the loophole will soon be closed. And while there’s an opportunity, they need to earn.

>> Then we need to make as much money as we can while we can get the festival going and finish rebuilding before it pushes back. Meanwhile, in the lottery company office, one of the employees brings a report to the management and claims that there should only be five winners of more than $50,000 a year.

But here, there is a major win every 3 weeks. >> He’s won this much. >> Yeah. Now, who drives 10 hours every month to play the lottery in a different state? >> Yeah, that doesn’t make any sense, >> right? >> The Harvard students also made their profit. However, one of the students, Eric, realizes that the winning should be higher.

And after checking all the lottery data, he finds out that a large amount of money is also being drawn from another location. He hacks into the lotteryy’s database and knows exactly where the tickets are being sold. The guys realize that there is a second group of people who are profiting from the lottery.

A new batch of tickets goes on sale. Jerry and Marge are printing them, sitting at the gas station while celebrating their 46th anniversary. >> This was easier when I was 16. You’re even more beautiful now. >> At that moment, Tyler and Eric walk into the establishment. They start sneering at the sight of the elderly couple as they initially intended to meet a criminal group.

The guys offer the elderly people to join their group rather than play separately, but Jerry refuses. Marge jokes about the students. The student says that at Harvard they study more serious matters, but Jerry responds, >> “Binomial distribution only considers two factors. Not a third, which is human error, or a fourth, which is the time it takes for you to fill in the tickets.

You gain a whopping 32 bucks for every $100,000 you win. You’re welcome. >> Seriously, shut up. >> In the end, they refuse the offer and the guys leave empty-handed. The next day, we see Jerry’s investors. The gas station clerk is getting a divorce and drives away in a new car, which drives his ex-wife into a fury.

The farmer rents space to sell his products and Steve buys himself a brand new Lamborghini. >> I just bought a Corvette. >> Yeah, I can see that. >> At this moment, we are shown the lottery headquarters again where the same employee shares the news of Jerry’s multi-million win with another boss. However, the boss does not react as it’s a lottery. people are supposed to win.

A few days later, the persistent Tyler arrives in Michigan again and while alone with Jerry, threatens to hack into all of his investors accounts. He assures Jerry that his group will have no trouble finding information about everyone involved in the win. He asks Jerry to stop with the lottery as he has already made enough money.

>> We hacked into the state lottery to find where you were betting. You don’t think that we can hack into your accounts, your credit, your identity? The man realizes that continuing with the lottery is risky. And during a meeting with the investors, Jerry announces that they are exiting the game. >> So, you’re really going to let some college take all this away from you? The odds that he might do something outweigh the benefits.

>> It’s not about the math. >> It’s about being human. >> However, after talking to his son and wife, the man decides not to retreat, but to keep playing. Tyler learns that Jerry has not quit the game, and the ticket purchasing from Massachusetts starts again. He comes up with a scheme where his group will buy the tickets first and intercept the jackpot distribution earlier.

But if we create a roll down when nobody expects it, we take it all. We squeeze the other players out. We use our half to track the pot. We we we wait for it to hit a million before a drawing and then we bet a million in one day. I mean, we own the game. >> However, for this, he needs a large sum of money.

He turns to his father’s business associates who are ready to invest their money in the students idea. Later, Bill visits Jerry and says that the drawing is today, not in a couple of weeks. The students managed to carry out their scheme. Jerry understands everything and quickly goes to Harvard where he chastises all the students for helping him get richer while he doesn’t do anything in return and doesn’t share the winnings.

After all, he has always paid small dividends, although he himself made huge sums. When Jerry leaves, the students stop filling out the lottery tickets. Jerry concludes that since the lottery management knows about the wins and does nothing, it means they don’t care. Together with Marge, they meet with the board of directors.

He asks them to make the jackpot amount transparent so that all participants can see it, thus preventing the early distribution of it. He also asks for two ticket printing machines. The board of directors agrees. The students notice that the website has changed and now displays the jackpot amount. Then Tyler says they will hack the site.

When he arrives at the dorm, he sees that none of the students are there as they have all refused to work with him. Meanwhile, journalist Maya Jordan from the Boston Globe during her investigation discovers that Jerry and Tyler are frequent lottery winners. She visits the pensioner and he shows her boxes filled with lottery tickets.

He explains that he doesn’t mind spending days and nights with his wife checking tickets. That’s what makes him happy. With his words, he surprises the woman. The director of the Boston Globe demands a scathing article, but she finds out that Jerry and his investors are spending their winnings on the city’s development.

The day comes when Jerry and Marge decide to play one last time. The winning sum will be enough to restore the city. When they arrive, as usual, at the gas station, they notice that the lottery ticket machines are being removed from their regular spot. They learn that the lottery management has revoked the license after the article in the newspaper exposed the game’s vulnerability.

The article did come out, but it was about Tyler, as he selfishly made money. The newspaper note with Tyler’s picture catches his father’s eye, who arrives at the university to take him away, forcing him to pack up and leave with him. >> The high volume betting groups discovered a flaw in the game and took advantage of it to the tune of millions of dollars.

Lottery officials expressed their surprise at the discovery and announced they will phase out the game after tonight’s draw. >> In the evening, Jerry and his wife attend an investor meeting and are surprised by the opening of a jazz festival in the city organized by the locals. The citizens confess that on the last day they drove to all the trading points in the state where they hadn’t picked up lottery machines and bought all the tickets.

They are all grateful to Jerry for what he did for them and the city. The film ends with Jerry and Marge dancing, escaping from the festival to count the profit from the lottery tickets. They spent most of the money on improving their town. And like many of their friends and neighbors, they invested in the education of their children and grandchildren.

Meanwhile, the vendor Bill set up the most comfortable man cave for himself. Throughout their participation in the lottery, Jerry won 27 million. This film is based on real events.