Fortune Cookie Wins Woman $2 Million

A New York grandmother is now a millionaire, and she can thank a cookie for all her good fortune.

According to the Washington Times, 75-year-old Emma Duvoll, a retired deli owner from the Bronx, received a very lucky fortune cookie after having a meal at Sammy's Noodle Shop and Grill in Greenwich Village in February. Where most of people would eat the cookie and toss the fortune, she figured she might as well use the lucky numbers at the bottom when she entered the New York Powerball Lottery.

The fortune proved far luckier than Duvoll's children's birthdates or any of the other combinations she had tried on previous occasions. Five of Duvoll's lucky numbers were drawn, winning her a $2 million payout. She took the lump sum option, meaning after taxes she will get just over $1.2 million.

"I was surprised, but pleased," she said.

Duvoll says she does not expect her sudden good fortune to change her life that much. She plans to invest most of the money, and probably use some for a trip to visit family in Switzerland.