Fortune Cookie Numbers Net $1M Lotto Win In North Jersey

HOPE, NJ — A years-old cookie brought a real fortune to one North Jersey lottery player, who won $1 million playing the numbers on the back of his fortune cookie paper.

Ronnie Martin of Long Pond, Pennsylvania has been playing hand picked lottery numbers for years after opening a fortune cookie and taking a liking to the numbers on the back. Although a Pennsylvania resident, he regularly stops at gas stations in New Jersey on his way to work in the state.

The night before the $543 million Mega Millions jackpot drawing in June, Martin bought three tickets. He found out he was a winner the next day when a self-check scanner wouldn't show the tickets' value at his regular lottery store.

After a sales clerk scanned the ticket on his machine, it finally sunk in for Martin. He says he'll pay off the home he owns with his wife and pay down some bills, and put the rest into savings.

The winning ticket was sold at US Gas on Blairstown Road in Hope Township.

Image via NJ Lottery