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Agence France-Presse

A fortune cookie delivered the winning lottery number and a US$344.6 million jackpot to an American retiree, who has an eight-year-old to thank.
“I never expected to win. I just got lucky,” a still-overwhelmed Charles Jackson said after claiming the huge Powerball prize in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Jackson, who is 66, said the lucky number was written on the slip of paper his stepson’s daughter retrieved from a fortune cookie.
“She is eight years old. Me and her grandma went to a Vietnamese restaurant. We always give her the fortune cookies. And I said: ‘Save the fortune for me and I look at the numbers on the back, I might want to play them.’
Kwun Tong stall holders hit HK$100 million jackpot
“That’s where it came from,” he said on Tuesday at a news conference.
Jackson said he usually plays the same five numbers in the weekly lotteries but had never won until now.
“I’m kind of stunned,” he said.


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Offbeat

US retiree Charles Jackson wins US$344 million Powerball jackpot with numbers from a fortune cookie

Charles Jackson is introduced as the winner of Saturday's US$344.6 million Powerball jackpot on Tuesday in Raleigh, North Carolina. Photo: AP

A mystery Good Samaritan handed in Mike Weirsky’s lost lottery ticket worth US$273 million – and he could have claimed it himself

Mike Weirsky is interviewed at a press conference on Thursday to announce his US$273 million Mega Millions lottery win in Trenton, New Jersey. Photo: AP

Mike Weirsky is interviewed at a press conference on Thursday to announce his US$273 million Mega Millions lottery win. Photo: AP

US Mega Millions lottery jackpot hits world record US$1.6 billion

● If a player hits all six numbers, they can opt for an immediate cash payment of US$904 million or US$1.6 billion prize over 29 years

FILE PHOTO: Customers line up to buy Mega Millions tickets at a newsstand in midtown Manhattan in New York, U.S., October 19, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

The record jackpot level for the multistate US lottery follows a move by the game’s organisers a year ago to lower the odds of winning. Photo: AP

One winning ticket sold in South Carolina for record US$1.6 billion lottery jackpot, organisers say

The buyer of the ticket beat odds of one in 303 million to win the Mega Millions draw

epaselect epa07114940 Hundreds of people line up to buy Mega Millions lottery tickets as the jackpot reached at least $1.6 billion outside the Bluebird Liquor store in Hawthorne, California, USA, 23 October 2018. The jackpot exceeded the store sign's ability to display more than a $999 million payout. EPA-EFE/EUGENE GARCIA

Lottery players line up to purchase Mega Millions lottery tickets, at The World Bar and Grill, in Delta, La., a few miles from the Mississippi-Louisiana state line, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. Although the Mississippi Legislature passed a lottery bill, the state still does not have an established lottery, so players from the Magnolia state have crossed over state lines for a chance at winning an estimated $1.6 billion jackpot in Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

A customer holing up their Mega Millions lottery ticket at a shop in Washington on October 23, 2018. Photo: EPA

News

World

United States & Canada

‘Stunned’ winner says he usually plays same five numbers, but decided to try his luck after getting cookie at Vietnamese restaurant


‘Stunned’ retiree Charles Jackson usually plays same five numbers, but decided to try his luck after getting cookie at Vietnamese restaurant.


United States

US retiree Charles Jackson wins US$344 million Powerball jackpot with numbers from a fortune cookie

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}‘Stunned’ winner says he usually plays same five numbers, but decided to try his luck after getting cookie at Vietnamese restaurant

‘Stunned’ winner says he usually plays same five numbers, but decided to try his luck after getting cookie at Vietnamese restaurant