According to a recent survey by OpenFortune, the numbers inside fortune cookies were responsible for at least 146 lottery winners between 2004 and 2021, spread across 40 different states.
The organization says they were surprised by the results of their survey. Totaled up, fortune cookie numbers brought over $406 million in winnings for people that played them, with 93% of the winners getting more than$100k each. One of the most recent was a North Carolina resident that won half a million dollars from a Powerball ticket in February that used the numbers from his Chinese takeout.
That’s the dream, isn’t it? Takeout food and a pile of money. According to the survey, the three states with the most winners from fortune cookie numbers are South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee, and the “luckiest” numbers? 4, 14, 15, 22, 26, and 28.Chief Cookie Officer Matt Williams, which is a title anyone would be proud to hold, was surprised by the results, saying fortunes in cookies can lead people “to make life-changing decisions.” And if your numbers don’t win? At least you had a cookie.