Movie Math: Tetali’s Equations Seen in Film

In the movie, "Jerry & Marge Go Large," a man finds a legal loophole in lotteries. Carnegie Mellon University's Prasad Tetali wrote the on-screen calculations to explain how the math behind that loophole works. The movie, which was released in June and available to stream on Paramount+, is based on the true story of Jerry and Marge Selbee - played by Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening - who won more than $26 million from the Michigan Winfall and the Massachusetts State lotteries. "I didn't know anything about either lottery so I went online, checked the rules and then figured out a solution," said Tetali, the Alexander M. Knaster Professor and Head of the Department of Mathematical Sciences in the Mellon College of Science. "The actual math is a simple combinatorics and probability question at the undergraduate level." Tetali's research focuses on probability theory, discrete mathematics and approximation algorithms. A fellow of the American Mathematical Society and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, he shared his explanation with the film's production team after they reached out to him for technical assistance. Tickets for Winfall were $1, and players selected six numbers from 1 to 49.