I’m a lotto expert – here are my tips for winning big in the National Lottery… and the clue is in a Hollywood film

A LOTTO expert has given his best tips for winning big in the National Lottery - and the clue is in a Hollywood film.

Richard Brocklebank, known as The Squirrel, has landed more than £14 million for his syndicates using maths to calculate the optimum odds.

56-year-old Richard’s secret squirrel formula has now identified the potential for profit out of National Lottery Must Be Won draws.

The frequent punter has spent years winning millions on horseracing.

And the seasoned gambler has now applied his knowledge to give some handy advice on the National Lottery 

Richard’s hit book ‘£3 Million In 3 Weeks – The Squirrel Syndicate – A Gambler’s Tale’ features a line about the hit movie Jerry And Marge Go Large.

Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston stars in the film in which he and his wife set up a US syndicate that landed $27 million over 10 years for their Michigan home town.

The pair won a fortune on the Michigan and then the Massachusetts 'Must be Won' Lottos.

And Richard, who has a physics degree from Nottingham, draws a striking similarity to Cranston's character Jerry Selbee who has a maths degree.

Dad-of-two Richard calls the Squirrel Syndicate the "UK equivalent" of Jerry & Marge's story.

And the lotto whizz went on to explain how his methods could see you scoop a big win on the National Lottery's Must be Won draws.

Richard said: "I was initially highly sceptical about the introduction of the ten extra balls when they were introduced, but they make the rollovers more likely, so there is a bit of value in Must Be Won draws here in the UK.

"Under normal circumstances a £2 lottery ticket is expected to return a long term average of less than 90p, but when you play a Must Be Won draw the expected value of the ticket can be actually greater than the £2 it costs, as when a jackpot of say £12 Million rolls down then all the lower prizes are enhanced.

"The higher cost of the £2 lottery ticket, up from the original £1, was another negative at first.

"However, the introduction of extra prizes and the making of more millionaires has made it more appealing, and the rollovers are what rock my boat."

But his greatest find was that punters don't need to hit six balls on the Lotto to make a nice profit thanks to a handy rule change.

Richard continued: "The biggest bonanza for players though was the rule change that means the jackpot prize money in Must Be Won draws will spill down to other entrants if there is no outright winner, so you don't need all six balls to get a decent profit.

"The guarantee that a National Lottery Must Be Won draw will pay out all that money rather than rolling it forward again means there is tremendous value to be had.

"In the movie – there is a great scene showing Jerry’s lightbulb moment in a coffee shop – my equivalent moment occurred years earlier in a pub over a pint when the rules about the rolldowns came out.

"On the basis of this maths, the National Lottery Must Be Won draws are the value in what is generally the bad value world of lotteries."

It comes as a claim was received for a second £6million Lotto jackpot prize from Saturday night's 'Must be Won' draw.

In Saturday night’s draw, two ticket-holders shared the £12,061,398 jackpot prize on offer and both prizes have now been claimed.

Meanwhile National Lottery players have been issued a 24-hour warning as three £10,000 prizes remain unclaimed.

Lucky players of the Lotto's Set For Life can bag themselves the cash prize monthly for one whole year.

The Squirrel Syndicate's biggest single Scoop6 return was in March 2009 when their selection Russian Trigger won the Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter for a then record bonus dividend of £3.1 million.