Beat the Lotto – Film Review

Director Ross Whitaker

The year is 1992, and after writing the book “Win the Lotto“, Cork-based mathematician Stefan Klincewicz set out to prove his point! He was at the forefront of a syndicate that tried to pick every possible combination of numbers. This documentary by Ross Whitaker talks to those involved in the ‘heist’ and who lived to tell the tale.

There were a number of requirements; the first was the size of the jackpot, which had to be over 1.5 million and, in this case, closer to 1.8 million. The second is that the Lotto was offering a ‘deal’ where anyone who matched four numbers was guaranteed £100 (as the Euro wasn’t used at the time). There was still an element of chance, as there could be a large number of jackpot winners.

The logistics behind it were dazzling. Filling out that many lotto coupons and then going to the shops and buying thousands of tickets! The first task seems to have been carried out by the son of the mathematician. The second task of buying the tickets was carried out by dozens of individuals around the country. What the syndicate didn’t bank on was that the Lotto would fight back!

There is also a fascinating moral argument which cropped up at the time about whether what they were doing was legal and ‘right’. The papers got wind of the syndicate and tried to find those involved. The documentary also talks to several journalists who were writing articles on the subject at the time.

Along with the fascinating story of how it was carried out, there’s also the characters behind the syndicate, who were a collection of gamblers who were willing to go all in! To buy that many tickets costs hundreds of thousands of punts.

Admittedly, any documentary showing Ireland in the 90s and I’m already sold. The vintage TV footage of Gay Byrne and Pat Kenny is always entertaining. The real joy of the documentary is the collection of loveable rogues involved and their memories of the event. There are some great moments where they try to remember the exact events from 30 years ago. The movie is getting a brief run in the cinemas and is worth checking out by anyone fascinated by Ireland before the Celtic Tiger took hold.