Dozens of people recently got an extra-special dessert with their Chinese food: a winning lottery number.
A record 110 players won $500,000 and $100,000 prizes in Wednesday's Powerball drawing, most of whom apparently used the numbers included in a fortune-cookie message. Ordinarily the multistate lottery expects only four tickets to win at the Match 5 prize level.
Several winners in a half-dozen states revealed that they got the winning number from a fortune cookie, said Doug Orr, marketing director with the West Des Moines-based Multi-State Lottery Association, which operates Powerball.
"With the systems reporting so many plays of 22-28-32-33-39 and Powerball 40, it is likely that most drew their luck from that very fortunate cookie," Orr said.
The cookie was one number away from winning the $25.5 million jackpot: The winning numbers were: 22, 28, 32, 33 and 39, with 42 being the Powerball.
Tickets that match the first five numbers but miss the Powerball win $100,000 each. There were 89 of those.
There were 21 Power Play Match 5 winners. Those players matched the first five numbers and missed the Powerball, but placed an extra dollar on the Power Play number, a multiplier number from two to five. Last night's multiplier was five, meaning that the $100,000 prize for matching all five numbers increased to $500,000.
According to the Powerball Web site, odds of winning the grand prize are 1 in 120,526,770, and odds of winning the $100,000 prize are about 1 in 2,939,677. Before Wednesday, the most tickets to win second-tier Powerball prizes in one drawing was 91, on Aug. 25, 2001.
One ticket, bought by a South Pittsburg, Tenn., family, had all six winning numbers to win the jackpot.
Just goes to show you...when it comes to the obscene-odds jackpot games, don't waste too much time trying to "anticipate" the numbers that will be drawn. Use any 5 or 6....they stand just as good a chance as any researching you can do. I only wish I had seen that fortune cookie.
Those cookies must sell overall the country. According to the PowerBall website:
Record 21 Tickets win $500,000; 89 Win $100,000
Powerball paid off BIG in multiple ways on March 30th. Not only was there one winning jackpot ticket worth $25.5 million that was sold in Tennessee, but also there were a record 21 tickets that won $500,000, and a record 89 tickets that won $100,000. The eighty-nine $100,000 tickets matched all 5 white numbers and were sold in AZ (10), CO (2), CT (2), DC, DE (3), IA (3), ID, IN (8), KS (3), KY (4), LA, MN (4), MO, MT, ND, NE (2), NH (2), NM (3), PA (12), RI (5), SC (6), TN (7), USVI, WI (4), and WV (2). The additional twenty-one players winning $500,000 not only matched the 5 white, but also purchased the Power Play option. The Power Play multiplier was 5 last night. These lucky tickets were sold in AZ, CT (2), IN (2), LA (1), NH (1), PA (1), SC (8), and TN (5). .
Those cookies must sell overall the country. According to the PowerBall website:
yep they do i have got the same fortune numbers in VA, PA and MD all within a months time at different Oriental take out food places. Now where did i put those numbers so i can playem for Mega and share the wealth if they win. Ha ha ha
Quote:Originally posted by four4me on April 1, 2005
Very possible i go to PA or DC from Maryland to get my powerball tickets when the pots are over 100 mil.
I wouldn't mind if the restaurants in canada had fortune cookies with numbers written on them. They only have sayings written on them.
110 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $100,000 prize: 11 from Arizona (1 with Power Play), 2 from Colorado, 4 from Connecticut (2 with Power Play), 1 from Washington, D.C., 3 from Delaware, 3 from Iowa, 1 from Idaho, 10 from Indiana (2 with Power Play), 3 from Kansas, 4 from Kentucky, 2 from Louisiana (1 with Power Play), 4 from Minnesota, 1 from Missouri, 1 from Montana, 1 from North Dakota, 2 from Nebraska, 3 from New Hampshire (1 with Power Play), 3 from New Mexico, 13 from Pennsylvania (1 with Power Play), 5 from Rhode Island, 14 from South Carolina (8 with Power Play), 12 from Tennessee (5 with Power Play), 4 from Wisconsin and 2 from West Virginia. For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Ways to Win page.
I thought those numbers had looked familiar. I have a them from a fortune cookie my wife told me to play but I didn't because I thought the numbers were too high.
whomever the original author was that wrote the lucky fortune cookie...be it here or in some other country...it would be interesting to know where he/she got their numbers?
The eighty-nine $100,000 tickets matched all 5 white numbers and were sold in AZ (10), CO (2), CT (2), DC, DE (3), IA (3), ID, IN (8), KS (3), KY (4), LA, MN (4), MO, MT, ND, NE (2), NH (2), NM (3), PA (12), RI (5), SC (6), TN (7), USVI, WI (4), and WV (2). The additional twenty-one players winning $500,000 not only matched the 5 white, but also purchased the Power Play option. The Power Play multiplier was 5 last night. These lucky tickets were sold in AZ, CT (2), IN (2), LA (1), NH (1), PA (1), SC (8), and TN (5). .
RJOh
I think that may have been the first time a ticket ever won $100K in the US Virgin Islands.
Quote:Originally posted by LOTTOMIKE on April 1, 2005 this will probably never happen again.....
You may be......right or wrong.......LOTTOMIKE, but.........explain to me if I
am hearing it as FACTS or in a DREAM???????????..........think I saw it INN
DEEE......LP NEWS.........among other places???????????????????????????
WHAT DO YOU think about QP's...................just dropped 50 there.............
I still think QP's make more $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ than....DOO DEEEEEEEEE
......................................................................................tortureher cookies makes....CENTSSSSSSSSSSSSENTSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1) Imaging if they hit the jackpot, the cash value would have been about $125,000 each (or about $231,000 over time). So the 21 people who played the powerplay are lucky they DID NOT hit the jackpot.
2) I would have to check the Powerball rules, but I thought that most Lotteries have the right (if it's in their rules) to pay such a prize as a Pari-mutual prize when there are a large amount of winners. So again, the winners are lucky that Powerball didn't change the prize to 4 or 5 thousand dollars each, the actual dollar abount in that prize pool (divided by 110 winners).
Lotteries are good about paying fixed prize amounts. I believe if prizes are 300% or more of total ticket sales they switch them down to para-mutual. They paid around twice as much as they took in in the last drawing.
I wonder how many people bought more than one ticket though. that will be interesting to see if there was any double or triple winners.
I have often used fortune cookie numbers here in Maryland in the Bonus Match 5, Lotto and Mega million games. I've cashed in $400.00 twice using them on the Bonus Match 5 game. Winning numbers have come form many venues.
I saved a fortune cookie slip that told me "You may have an interest in home repair or gardening." Now that part is incorrect, but I'm interested in what the numbers are on the back!
Those cookies must sell overall the country. According to the PowerBall website:
Record 21 Tickets win $500,000; 89 Win $100,000
Powerball paid off BIG in multiple ways on March 30th. Not only was there one winning jackpot ticket worth $25.5 million that was sold in Tennessee, but also there were a record 21 tickets that won $500,000, and a record 89 tickets that won $100,000. The eighty-nine $100,000 tickets matched all 5 white numbers and were sold in AZ (10), CO (2), CT (2), DC, DE (3), IA (3), ID, IN (8), KS (3), KY (4), LA, MN (4), MO, MT, ND, NE (2), NH (2), NM (3), PA (12), RI (5), SC (6), TN (7), USVI, WI (4), and WV (2). The additional twenty-one players winning $500,000 not only matched the 5 white, but also purchased the Power Play option. The Power Play multiplier was 5 last night. These lucky tickets were sold in AZ, CT (2), IN (2), LA (1), NH (1), PA (1), SC (8), and TN (5). .
RJOh
I once read somewhere that there are only something like 1 or 2 companies that make fortune cookies in the country for Chinese restaurants. So the same messages get shipped all over the country.
Now....how do you suppose the person feels who wrote that message, assuming they didn't bet the Powerball?
I believe there is a rule in Powerball that if the cost to purchase an annuity for a jackpot winner is less than $250,000 that the winner automatically gets the one-time lump sum. Therefore if the Powerball picked last Wednesday was 40 instead of 42, all the winners would have received only $125,000 cash, with no annuity option.
Quote:Originally posted by golotto on April 1, 2005
whomever the original author was that wrote the lucky fortune cookie...be it here or in some other country...it would be interesting to know where he/she got their numbers?
Just goes to show you...when it comes to the obscene-odds jackpot games, don't waste too much time trying to "anticipate" the numbers that will be drawn. Use any 5 or 6....they stand just as good a chance as any researching you can do. I only wish I had seen that fortune cookie.
I agree one hundred percent.
AHHHH! I knew there had to be a reason other than just dumb luck for all the winners!!!!
Sometimes luck is all you need.
It was incredibly many who used the numbers found in the fortune cookies
If the cookie was from a Take Out or Chinese Restaurant all the winners are probably
from the same area as well.
I should eat more Chinese food!
Those cookies must sell overall the country. According to the PowerBall website:
Record 21 Tickets win $500,000; 89 Win $100,000
Powerball paid off BIG in multiple ways on March 30th. Not only was there one winning jackpot ticket worth $25.5 million that was sold in Tennessee, but also there were a record 21 tickets that won $500,000, and a record 89 tickets that won $100,000. The eighty-nine $100,000 tickets matched all 5 white numbers and were sold in AZ (10), CO (2), CT (2), DC, DE (3), IA (3), ID, IN (8), KS (3), KY (4), LA, MN (4), MO, MT, ND, NE (2), NH (2), NM (3), PA (12), RI (5), SC (6), TN (7), USVI, WI (4), and WV (2). The additional twenty-one players winning $500,000 not only matched the 5 white, but also purchased the Power Play option. The Power Play multiplier was 5 last night. These lucky tickets were sold in AZ, CT (2), IN (2), LA (1), NH (1), PA (1), SC (8), and TN (5). .
RJOh
I see 14 of those winners were from South Carolina and 8 of them had the PowerPlay. I wonder if any of them made a trip from North Carolina.
RJOh
Very possible i go to PA or DC from Maryland to get my powerball tickets when the pots are over 100 mil.
I wouldn't mind if the restaurants in canada had fortune cookies with numbers written on them. They only have sayings written on them.
Elizabeth
According to the USA Mega web site:
110 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $100,000 prize: 11 from Arizona (1 with Power Play), 2 from Colorado, 4 from Connecticut (2 with Power Play), 1 from Washington, D.C., 3 from Delaware, 3 from Iowa, 1 from Idaho, 10 from Indiana (2 with Power Play), 3 from Kansas, 4 from Kentucky, 2 from Louisiana (1 with Power Play), 4 from Minnesota, 1 from Missouri, 1 from Montana, 1 from North Dakota, 2 from Nebraska, 3 from New Hampshire (1 with Power Play), 3 from New Mexico, 13 from Pennsylvania (1 with Power Play), 5 from Rhode Island, 14 from South Carolina (8 with Power Play), 12 from Tennessee (5 with Power Play), 4 from Wisconsin and 2 from West Virginia. For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Ways to Win page.
I thought those numbers had looked familiar. I have a them from a fortune cookie my wife told me to play but I didn't because I thought the numbers were too high.
Talk about free advertising for Oriental food...I bet they have a big boost in sales!
i already play fortune cookie numbers.....just didn't have those particular numbers......
whomever the original author was that wrote the lucky fortune cookie...be it here or in some other country...it would be interesting to know where he/she got their numbers?
this will probably never happen again.....
You may be......right or wrong.......LOTTOMIKE, but.........explain to me if I
am hearing it as FACTS or in a DREAM???????????..........think I saw it INN
DEEE......LP NEWS.........among other places???????????????????????????
WHAT DO YOU think about QP's...................just dropped 50 there.............
I still think QP's make more $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ than....DOO DEEEEEEEEE
......................................................................................tortureher cookies makes....CENTSSSSSSSSSSSSENTSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOL,
PSYKOMO
Here are my two comments...
1) Imaging if they hit the jackpot, the cash value would have been about $125,000 each (or about $231,000 over time). So the 21 people who played the powerplay are lucky they DID NOT hit the jackpot.
2) I would have to check the Powerball rules, but I thought that most Lotteries have the right (if it's in their rules) to pay such a prize as a Pari-mutual prize when there are a large amount of winners. So again, the winners are lucky that Powerball didn't change the prize to 4 or 5 thousand dollars each, the actual dollar abount in that prize pool (divided by 110 winners).
Stars
very very true.......
Lotteries are good about paying fixed prize amounts. I believe if prizes are 300% or more of total ticket sales they switch them down to para-mutual. They paid around twice as much as they took in in the last drawing.
I wonder how many people bought more than one ticket though. that will be interesting to see if there was any double or triple winners.
Brad
I have often used fortune cookie numbers here in Maryland in the Bonus Match 5, Lotto and Mega million games. I've cashed in $400.00 twice using them on the Bonus Match 5 game. Winning numbers have come form many venues.
litebets
i got a few of my old fortune cookie numbers out.i'm gonna try and see if i have any luck.....
I saved a fortune cookie slip that told me "You may have an interest in home repair or gardening." Now that part is incorrect, but I'm interested in what the numbers are on the back!
I once read somewhere that there are only something like 1 or 2 companies that make fortune cookies in the country for Chinese restaurants. So the same messages get shipped all over the country.
Now....how do you suppose the person feels who wrote that message, assuming they didn't bet the Powerball?
I believe there is a rule in Powerball that if the cost to purchase an annuity for a jackpot winner is less than $250,000 that the winner automatically gets the one-time lump sum. Therefore if the Powerball picked last Wednesday was 40 instead of 42, all the winners would have received only $125,000 cash, with no annuity option.
Ancient Chinese secret
i wonder if that person who wrote the fortune and numbers notices the huge luck.....
... you think MM and PB officials are lunching at Chinese restaurants gathering statistics?