The New York Post, a local media outlet in the U.S., told the story of Carrie Edwards, a woman living in Midlothian, Virginia, winning the lottery. Edwards matched four of the first five numbers in the Virginia Powerball lottery on the 8th.
The Powerball lottery in the U.S. is a lottery in which five numbers from 1 to 49 and one number from 1 to 42 (Powerball) are matched. If a dollar is added to the lottery price, the so-called “Power Play” option is applied, which doubles the prize money. Edwards received a total of $50,000 by matching four of the first five numbers with the Powerball number, and the total prize money increased to $150,000 thanks to the payment of the Power Play option.
Edwards, who is not a fan of lottery games, chose numbers in a special way this time. He asked ChatGPT application installed on his smartphone to recommend numbers. “I asked ChatGPT to talk to me. Do you have a number?” he said in a press conference after winning the prize.
Two days later, Edwards, who was in a meeting at the company, was reportedly surprised to receive a text message on his mobile phone saying, “Get your lottery prize.” At first, I thought it was a scam message, but when I checked the website, his name was written on the actual winners list.
Edwards reportedly made the decision to donate his entire fortune after confirming that he won the lottery. “As soon as I was given an unexpected blessing, I knew what to do. I have to donate everything,” he said in a press conference. “I’ve already been blessed enough, and I want to show you that I can share my blessing with others.”
Edwards decided to split the prize money into three groups. The first group will be an association that studies treatment for frontal brain degeneration, which caused her husband’s death last year, and the second group will be “Shalom Farms,” an organization that works to address food inequality in the region. The third group will send donations to the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Associations, which have been sponsored by her father.
JENNIFER KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
