Widow Wins $150K Powerball Prize With ChatGPT’s Help

A Virginia grandmother says she owes her lottery win to artificial intelligence — and her faith.

Carrie Edwards of Midlothian, a widow and mother of three, struck gold in the September 8 Powerball drawing after turning to ChatGPT for advice on what numbers to play. The 66-year-old matched four of the first five numbers plus the Powerball, landing a $150,000 prize thanks to the Power Play multiplier.

“I had never played online before,” Edwards told reporters this week. “So I asked ChatGPT — I said, ‘Hey, talk to me about this $1.7 billion jackpot. Do you have numbers for me?’”

At first, the AI chatbot warned her that winning was all about luck. “But then it actually gave me numbers,” she recalled, laughing.

Two days later, Edwards was in a meeting when her phone buzzed with a notification: “Please collect your lottery winnings.”

“I thought it was a scam,” she admitted. “I went home, logged into my account, and there it was — $50,000, multiplied three times over.”

She accepted her prize on Tuesday from Virginia Lottery Executive Director Khalid Jones. But instead of pocketing the money, she stunned the crowd by announcing she had already decided to give every dollar away.

Edwards said her decision came instantly. Her firefighter husband died from complications of frontotemporal degeneration (FTD), a rare brain disease. “As soon as that divine windfall came down upon my shoulders, I knew I had to give it away,” she said. “I’ve been so blessed. This is my chance to bless others.”

The money was split among three charities close to her heart:

• The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, funding research into the illness that claimed her husband’s life.
• Shalom Farms, a nonprofit tackling food insecurity through farming.
• The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, which helps military families in crisis.

“These three organizations represent healing, service, and community,” Edwards said. “Shalom Farms heals through food and soil. AFTD brings hope through research. And the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society carries on the tradition of helping military families when they need it most.”

Edwards’ unusual lottery win comes at a moment when artificial intelligence is seeping into everyday life — from classrooms to workplaces. But for her, this story isn’t about technology.

“This wasn’t just luck,” she told reporters. “It was God using an unusual tool to remind me that when we’re blessed, we’re meant to bless others.”