LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A fortune cookie helped a Lexington woman win $50,000 by playing the Kentucky Lottery.
Kathy Bailey had just finished eating Chinese food with her family. She picked up her daughter's fortune cookie and went online to purchase a Powerball ticket. She opted to use the numbers inside of the fortune cookie, according to a news release.
Bailey then went to the Instant Play page and wagered $5 on Golden Snake Triple Play. For that game, players have to select which bonus game they'd like to play, picking between the fan bonus, fortune cookie bonus or firecracker bonus game. Bailey decided to play the fortune cookie bonus.
“I almost always choose the Fortune Cookie Bonus,” Bailey said to Kentucky Lottery officials. “I just happened to choose that one. I just hit it and there it went.”
Seconds later, a $50,000 win appeared on her screen. The odds of winning that prize with a $5 wager are one in 2,000,000.
“I was on my laptop when I saw the big 'winner' notification, followed by the $50,000 amount," Bailey said. "It was a lot to digest, and I had to double-check to make sure I wasn't seeing things."
She showed her husband, and he couldn't believe it either.
But Bailey received an email from the Kentucky Lottery a few minutes later to confirm the win.
She plays online "every now and then," according to a news release.
Bailey plans to save the money for future needs.
"My husband is retiring in December, and this will be some extra money to have on hand," Bailey said. "We've already taken care of our house, van, and truck, so this will just be a nice addition to our savings."
Bailey took home $36,000 after taxes.
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