In an unexpected turn of events, a Lexington woman has won $50,000 after fortune cookie numbers prompted her to play Kentucky Lottery games online.
Kathy Bailey and her family had just finished eating Chinese food for dinner recently when she noticed lying next to her was her daughter’s fortune cookie. Bailey then picked it up and went online to purchase a Powerball ticket using the numbers found inside.
Bailey then jumped over to the Instant Play page and wagered $5 on Golden Snake Triple Play. For this particular game, players must select which Bonus Game they want to play for by choosing between the Fan Bonus, Fortune Cookie Bonus, or Firecracker Bonus Game. Bailey selected the Fortune Cookie Bonus.
“I almost always choose the Fortune Cookie Bonus,” she said. “I just happened to choose that one. I just hit it and there it went.” Seconds later, a $50,000 win showed up on her screen. The odds of winning the $50,000 prize with a $5 wager are 1 in 2,000,000.
Bailey was in disbelief. “I was on my laptop when I saw the big 'winner' notification, followed by the $50,000 amount. It was a lot to digest, and I had to double-check to make sure I wasn't seeing things."
“Oh my gosh,” Bailey said. “I told my husband, ‘You might want to look at this and see if I’m seeing this right.’ He couldn’t believe it and asked, ‘what did you do now?’”
A few minutes later Bailey received an email from the Kentucky Lottery confirming her big win.
Bailey told lottery officials that she plays online “every now and then.”
When asked about plans for the winnings, Bailey mentioned that the money would be saved for future needs. "My husband is retiring in December, and this will be some extra money to have on hand. We've already taken care of our house, van, and truck, so this will just be a nice addition to our savings."
After taxes, Bailey took home $36,000. “Not bad for a $5 spin,” she said as she was leaving the lottery office.
