A Virginia woman named Tierra Barley won $50,000 on a lottery ticket by playing the numbers she found inside a fortune cookie. She bought her winning ticket at the Varina Superstore Supermarket and matched four of the five numbers, plus the Powerball, in the May 8 drawing. Barley nearly lost her ticket after she left it at the store while taking her daughter to the park, but luckily, it was returned to her before the drawing.
The odds of winning the jackpot by matching all six numbers in the Powerball lottery are 1 in 292.2 million, according to the state lottery. The overall odds of winning any Powerball prize are 1 in 25. Barley’s win of $50,000 will be a nice surprise for her, especially since it came from playing the numbers she found in a fortune cookie.
The Virginia Lottery reported Barley’s big win, emphasizing her luck in using the numbers from her Chinese takeout to win the prize. The funds from the lottery go to support education in the state of Virginia, making Barley’s win a win for education as well.
Barley purchased her winning ticket in Henrico, about 10 miles northwest of Richmond, at a local supermarket. She was lucky both in winning the lottery and in getting her ticket back after nearly losing it at the store, showing just how fortunate she was in her recent lottery experience.
Winning $50,000 from a lottery ticket is a significant amount of money, especially for someone who was just playing for fun by using numbers from a fortune cookie. Barley’s experience serves as a reminder of the potential luck that can come from playing the lottery and using random numbers as a source of inspiration.
Overall, Barley’s $50,000 win from the Virginia Lottery highlights the element of luck and surprise that comes with playing the lottery. While the odds of winning are slim, Barley’s story shows that every once in a while, fortune may just be on your side, whether it’s in winning a lottery prize or simply finding a misplaced ticket.
