A woman who lost her home to a tornado has won the $2 million Powerball lottery prize, according to NBC News.
Tammy Gordy of Ottumwa, Iowa says the cash windfall will help her and her husband speed up the process of rebuilding their home. Gordy, a 56-year-old dietary aide, says the couple’s home was destroyed in an April 2001 tornado, according to NBC News.
“We were in the process of building a home, and it kind of got put on hold for a few years, so now this is going to speed it up,” Gordy said.
“And it’s going to go into better details! I’m talking a walk-in closet and a Jacuzzi tub! That’s what I’m talking about!” (RELATED: Pizza Shop Sells $432 Million Winning Lottery Ticket In NYC)
A winning lottery ticket, worth nearly $2 million, found its way into the hands of an Iowa woman whose home was wiped out in tornadoes 20 years ago, officials say. https://t.co/Rcq91AsVWJ
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 29, 2023
“We’ve never been material people, I can say that,” Tammy Gordy said, according to the New York Post. “Family was more important to us. So, it’s going to be that way. We’re just going to be able to do more things,” Gordy added.
Gordy said she learned about her winnings after checking the Iowa Lottery mobile app. The dietary aide claims she was left stunned.
“I fell into my chair,” Gordy said. “I couldn’t see! There were all those zeroes! I was like, ‘Maybe I need my glasses.’ So yeah, we screamed.”
Gordy correctly picked the first five numbers of the lottery drawing. However, she incorrectly guessed the Powerball number to win the $1 million purse. However, Gordy added the Power Play option to her ticket, which multiplied the cash prize from the first five numbers to $2 million.
Gordy said she called her boss to take time off work following her lottery win.
“I called my boss and told him that I needed to take Monday and Tuesday off because I won $2 million on the Powerball,” she said, according to Fox 4.
“And so he says, ‘Well, congratulations, if you’re not April Foolin’ me!'” Gordy said.