Fortune Cookie Provides Winning Lottery Numbers for Virginia Woman

Numerous individuals break open the fortune cookie included with their Chinese food takeout and enjoy the crunchy, sweet wafer, but for one fortunate woman in Virginia, the lucky numbers printed on the slip of paper inside turned out to be precisely that — lucky. 

The Virginia Lottery states that resident Tierra Barley selected six numbers for a Powerball ticket derived from the numbers she got from a fortune cookie. Those lucky numbers ultimately won her a $50K reward after she matched four out of five white balls and the red Powerball in the drawing on May 8. 

The numbers drawn that evening were 7, 41, 43, 44, 51, with the Powerball being 5. Barley’s fortune cookie note assisted her in beating the slim odds of one in 913,129 for matching four white balls along with the Powerball. 

Barley's payment, however, nearly resulted in a loss. She informed state lottery officials that after buying the Powerball ticket at the Varina Superstore Supermarket on Darbytown Rd. in Henrico, she inadvertently left the ticket slip at the store before heading to the park with her daughter. 

Upon realizing she had forgotten her ticket in the store, she hurried back to discover another lottery player buying tickets. In fortunate circumstances, that individual possessed her ticket and happily handed the receipt back to Barley. 

Henrico is located roughly 10 miles northwest of Richmond, the capital of Virginia. 

Origins of Fortune Cookies 

Fortune cookies are a common feature of Chinese cuisine in the U.S., but they are rarely provided with the bill when eating out in China. 

Although the exact origins of the fortune cookie are debated, many attribute its creation to a bakery in San Francisco during the 1890s or early 1900s. The Hong Kong Noodle Company in Los Angeles is believed to be the original major producer of fortune cookies. 

Up until World War II, cookies were mainly offered alongside Japanese dishes in the US. That shifted during the war, as numerous Japanese Americans were interned, moved, and/or imprisoned, which enabled Chinese Americans to adopt the trendy fortune cookie. 

It is estimated that over three billion fortune cookies are produced each year in factories globally. The fortunes, as per a 2023 piece in The Wall Street Journal, are crafted by a select group of fortune cookie factory proprietors, their relatives, and small groups of copywriters. 

Nonetheless, the way paper slips are created is evolving with the advancement of ChatGPT. The primary fortune cookie makers in the US, based in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, have announced the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate the process of writing fortunes. 

An additional $50K prize available 

In addition to announcing Barley’s significant victory, officials at the Virginia Lottery reveal that an additional Powerball ticket valued at $50K is still unclaimed. And the time to claim the reward is running out. 

Lottery representatives indicate that a ticket bought at the Wawa located at 2390 Plank Rd. in Fredericksburg for the Nov. 27, 2023, drawing needs to be claimed by 5 p.m. today, May 28. If it isn't, the ticket valued at $50,000 "will lose all its value." 

In Virginia, winning tickets become invalid 180 days following the drawing.