The Powerball drawing on March 30, 2005 produced 110 second-prize winners. The total payout to these winners was $19,400,000, with 89 winners each receiving $100,000. The other 21 winners received $500,000, because they were Power Play selections.
Officials first suspected fraud or a reporting error, but all 110 winners had played numbers from fortune cookies made by Wonton Food Inc. The factory had printed the numbers "22, 28, 32, 33, 39, 40" on thousands of fortunes.
The "40" in the fortune did not match the Powerball number of "42". None of the employees of Wonton Food played those numbers; at the time, the closest state with Powerball was Connecticut and the company was in New York.
Since the ticket holders had won as result of a coincidence rather than foul play, the payouts were honored. Had these 110 winners shared the then $25 million jackpot, each ticket would have been worth about $227,272 annuity or $122,727 cash.
The fortune on the inspiring fortune cookie read: "All the preparation you've done will finally be paying off.”