A woman hailing from Midlothian, Virginia, who used ChatGPT to pick her lottery numbers has won $150,000 and says she will give all of it away to charity.
Carrie Edwards matched four of the first five numbers plus the Powerball in the Sept. 8 Virginia Lottery drawing. Her original $50,000 prize was tripled through the Power Play option, raising her total to $150,000, the New York Post reported.
Edwards said she asked the chatbot to generate numbers while playing through the Virginia Lottery's online system.
"I'm like, ChatGPT, talk to me … Do you have numbers for me?" she recalled at a press conference.
Two days after buying her ticket, Edwards received a notification on her phone instructing her to collect her winnings. At first, she assumed it was a scam.
"I thought, 'I know I didn't win,'" she said.
Once confirmed, she said she immediately knew how she wanted to use the money.
"As soon as that divine windfall happened and came down upon my shoulders, I knew exactly what I needed to do with it. And I knew I needed to give it all away because I've been so blessed," Edwards said.
The money will be divided among three organizations. One portion will go to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, a cause tied to the illness that claimed her husband's life in 2024. Another share will support Shalom Farms, a Richmond nonprofit that operates a regenerative farm and works to combat food insecurity. The final part will go to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, a group her father, a fighter pilot, supported throughout his life.
Edwards said her donations are meant to extend her good fortune to others. "Because it's a windfall I didn't expect, and it's certainly going to help those in need," she said.
The Virginia Lottery confirmed her winnings, noting she is among many players who rely on personal or unconventional methods when selecting numbers.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.