Your next winning lottery ticket might be right under your nose. According to a new study by OpenFortune, a surprising number of people use their fortune cookie to play the lottery – and actually win.
OpenFortune, the media platform that distributes branded fortune cookies across the U.S., recently compiled research that revealed close to 150 lottery winners between 2004 and 2021, who were inspired to play after opening a fortune cookie.
Total earnings accumulated to $406,657,618, and winners were derived from Powerball, Mega Millions, Daily Draw and Scratch-Off Games. Out of those winners, 93% had a winning ticket of $100,000 or more. The “luckiest” numbers generating the most winners were 4, 14, 15, 22, 26 and 28.
Winners were spread across 40 states, with South Carolina (15 players), Pennsylvania (13 players) and Tennessee (12 players) producing the highest number of winning tickets from fortune cookie use. While in Illinois, nearly 90% said they have used their fortune cookie to play the lottery and nearly 80% said they were more likely to play the lottery after reading the fortune cookie.
“It’s obvious – fortune cookies instill feelings of luck and prosperity. But we were shocked by the sheer number of people who played, and actually won, using the motivation from their fortune. That small slip of paper is powerful and elicits emotions that can ultimately lead people to make life-changing decisions,” says Matt Williams, OpenFortune’s Chief Cookie Officer.
Whether you bet on luck or odds, using the lucky numbers on your fortune cookie slip might bring you more fortune than you think.