Kentucky

Lexington woman credits lucky fortune cookie for big online Kentucky Lottery win

A Lexington woman’s spur-of-the-moment decision to play the Kentucky Lottery resulted in a big payout for her family recently, and it all started with a random fortune cookie.

Kathy Bailey won $50,000 playing the Kentucky’s Lottery’s Golden Snake Triple Play game. The instant play game is available on the lottery’s website and requires players to reveal a cluster of three or more symbols to win. Prizes can range from a few bucks all the way up to $300,000, depending on the wager.

In Bailey’s case, her $5 wager produced a win of 10,000 times that amount, with the odds set at 1 in 2 million, according to a Wednesday Kentucky Lottery news release.

It began when Bailey decided to play the Powerball online with numbers from a fortune cookie she noticed lying around after dinner. After, Bailey decided to play the Golden Snake Triple Play game.

At the start of each game, players are asked to pick a bonus game: the fan bonus, the firecracker bonus or the fortune cookie bonus. Bailey chose the fortune cookie bonus, which she told lottery officials is her habit when playing the game.

Kathy Bailey, of Lexington, poses with her Kentucky Lottery winnings.
Kathy Bailey, of Lexington, poses recent with her Kentucky Lottery winnings at the organizations Louisville headquarters. Kentucky Lottery

“I just happened to choose that one. I just hit it and there it went,” she told the lottery.

Seconds later, a banner announcing her $50,000 win flashed across her laptop’s screen, and then an email from the Kentucky Lottery showed up in her inbox to confirm.

“I told my husband, ‘You might want to look at this and see if I’m seeing this right.’ He couldn’t believe it and asked, ‘what did you do now?’” Bailey said, per the lottery.

After taxes, Bailey’s check comes to $36,000.

“My husband is retiring in December, and this will be some extra money to have on hand. We’ve already taken care of our house, van, and truck, so this will just be a nice addition to our savings,” Bailey told the lottery.

In other recent Kentucky Lottery news, one London player is $50,000 richer after a Powerball ticket recently sold there.

If you or someone you know has a problem gambling, help is available at 1-800-522-4700.

Do you have a question about Kentucky for our service journalism team? We’d like to hear from you. Email ask@herald-leader.com or fill out our Know Your Kentucky form.

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Aaron Mudd
Lexington Herald-Leader
Aaron Mudd was a service journalism reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader, Centre Daily Times and Belleville News-Democrat. He was based at the Herald-Leader in Lexington, and left the paper in February 2026. Support my work with a digital subscription
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