2004 Press Releases

FORTUNE COOKIE CREATES SMALL FORTUNE
FOR $25,000 DELAWARE POWERBALL WINNER

DOVER, DE --Carlos Aquino, who lives just one mile from Delaware in Boothwyn, PA, had fortune smile on him last weekend when the numbers from a fortune cookie landed him $25,000 minus $6,250 in federal taxes playing POWERBALL with POWERPLAY.

"I always thought the numbers from fortune cookies were good," said Aquino, 56. "Those fortune cookies work!"

"There are six numbers on each fortune from a fortune cookie," Aquino explained. "So that's perfect for POWERBALL with the POWERPLAY. " I think you should always go for the POWERPLAY number because you just never know."

Aquino, a retired Philadelphia police sergeant, recalls that he and four friends had lunch in Philadelphia's Chinatown about four months ago and he collected everyone's fortune from their cookies.

According to Aquino, he always plays at the Delaware Newsstand in Carpenter Plaza on Naamans Road because there is usually no line to buy tickets.

Aquino does all his shopping in Delaware, and gets The News Journal delivered to his house to check his numbers and keep up with Delaware news.

Aquino's sister Hilda called him at 6:30 a.m. last Sunday concerned because she had not remembered to play the fortune cookie numbers the night before. "Sometimes she plays these same numbers," Aquino said. "She was all upset because she didn't play the POWERBALL numbers so I tried to calm her down with the news that I had played."

"I've been playing POWERBALL ever since it started but I have to admit I was astonished when I told Hilda that one of my POWERBALL ticket was a $25,000 winner," Aquino explained. "I've won $2,500 with Delaware Lottery's PLAY 4, but adding an extra zero to my prize this time is fantastic. I'm very excited because I'm getting ready to take my family on a vacation to Puerto Rico so the timing is great."

Aquino said that he'll use some of the money for his Puerto Rico vacation, spend some on his family members, pay a few bills, put some of the money in the bank, and make a donation to his church.

Aquino also said that he might return with his friends to Chinatown in Philadelphia for another lunch and a fresh round of fortune cookies.

Since the start of operations in 1975, the Delaware Lottery has contributed more than
$1.8 billion to the state's General Fund to help finance needed state services that benefit everyone in Delaware. The Lottery offers a variety of games: POWERBALL®, LOTTO, PLAY 3, PLAY 4, and assorted Instant Games.