I’d venture to guess that just about everyone has at one time or another dreamed about winning the lottery.
Some people indulge every once in a while; others spend a sizable portion of their paychecks on scratch-off tickets hoping to strike it rich.
In reality you’re probably more likely to get struck by lighting and hit by a bread truck on the same day than you are to actually win anything.
You’re probably better off investing that wasted cash in the stock mark…eh, never mind.
However, one Texas woman is proof positive that if you’re smart enough, winning isn’t all about luck.
Joan Ginther has won the lottery four times for a combined total of 21 million dollars.
It started in 1993 with a 5.4 million dollar jackpot followed by 2 million a decade later.
A 3 million dollar score followed two years after that, and finally a whopping 10 million dollars in 2008.
The odds of this happening are one is eighteen septillion.
It’s no wonder that Ginther is often referred to as the “luckiest woman in the world”.
I really shouldn't have slept through math class...
However, an article in the latest issue of Harper’s seems to point in a different direction.
The article reveals that Ginther is a former math professor who just happens to have a Ph. D. in statistics from Stanford University.
Does this necessarily mean that Ginther isn’t just really lucky?
No, but she is more likely to possess the skills necessary to figure out the algorithm used to determine where the winning tickets would be shipped than most aspiring millionaires.
This may very well have to do with why she made the trip back to Texas to purchase all of her winning tickets (two at the same convenience store two years apart) despite living in Las Vegas at the time.
Although this might be akin to card counting in Vegas, Texas authorities suspect no foul play.
Even if Ginther was gaming the system, it’s unlikely that it could ever be proven.
Besides, there’s no crime in being really, really smart.
Source: Forbes
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