A man who has landed lottery prizes an incredible 18 times over the last 29 years has opened up about his run of wins.
Idaho resident Robert Bevan first struck lucky in 1997, when he was among seven people to win a Chevrolet Blazer. Since then, he’s added a string of cash prizes to his record, including $200,000, $20,000, and multiple smaller payouts ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.
His wins haven’t been limited to one specific game, either. Bevan has picked up prizes across several lottery offerings, such as the King Scratch Game, plus Cash Explosion and Winter Wonders.
Despite the unusual number of wins, Bevan says there’s no special system behind it. Instead, he describes playing as a pastime he shares with his wife.
When asked about what he thinks has brought him good fortune, Bevan turned the attention to his partner, crediting their long relationship as the real source of his “luck.”
“My real luck is 40 years with the same amazing woman,” Robert Bevan told the Idaho Lottery, after collecting his most recent win of $50,000.
Bevan also shared that the pair have built a routine around it, regularly picking up tickets during everyday stops like grocery runs or trips to the gas station, turning it into a small tradition they enjoy together.
While Bevan insists his results aren’t tied to maths or strategy, others who’ve repeatedly won have described more structured approaches. One of the best-known examples is Stefan Mandel, who won 14 times and later explained how he did it.
According to reports, Mandel spent years developing a plan that involved forming a lottery syndicate—pooling money from a large group to buy enough tickets to meaningfully boost the odds of landing a winning combination.
The approach initially led to a $19,000 win, leaving Mandel with just under $4,000—enough to help him move his family from Romania to Australia.
Over time, Mandel’s syndicate—known as the International Lotto Fund (ILF)—went on to win 14 times in total, though the process wasn’t without complications.
Even if the tactics weren’t technically illegal, they drew intense scrutiny from authorities. Ultimately, however, Mandel and the ILF were cleared.
Another frequently discussed case is mathematician Joan Ginther, who won a combined $20.4 million across four separate prizes between 1993 and 2010.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, senior statistician Alan Salzberg of Salt Hill Consulting said he wasn’t convinced Ginther’s mathematical background alone accounted for the results, suggesting she may have spent heavily on tickets to improve her chances.
Salzberg also proposed that she could have reinvested some early winnings to play more often, and noted that living in a rural area may have helped—since fewer local players can mean less competition, while larger jackpots tend to draw in more participants overall.