Woman wins $2M in lottery, plans to rebuild home lost in tornado: 'I fell into my chair'

Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Des Moines Register
·2 min read
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Tammy Gordy was shocked when she checked some lottery tickets in her purse Sunday: She had won the $2 million Powerball prize.

"I fell into my chair," Gordy, 56, said in a news release from the Iowa Lottery. "I couldn't see! There were all those zeroes! I was like, 'Maybe I need my glasses.' So yeah, we screamed."

Gordy, of Ottumwa, Iowa, which is located in the southeast potion of the state, said she will use part of her winnings to finish the home she and her husband are building after they lost a house in a tornado that hit Wapello County back in 2001. They had been in the process of building a home, but that had been put on hold for a few years. Now, she said, the project will be sped up.

"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," she said in the release.

Tammy Gordy, of Ottumwa, won a $2 million Powerball prize on June 26, 2023.
Tammy Gordy, of Ottumwa, won a $2 million Powerball prize on June 26, 2023.

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Saturday's winning numbers were: 2-38-44-50-62 and the Powerball was 19. The Power Play number was 3.

Gordy's ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Powerball to originally win a $1 million prize during Saturday's drawing, according to the release. She had added the Powerball Play option, which multiplied prizes at the Match 5 level to $2 million. Gordy was the only one to win in the country that night.

The winning ticket was purchased at a Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh location in Ottumwa, Iowa, according to the release. Hy-Vee will receive a $2,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery.

Gordy, a dietary aide at a hospital, was the first of three to claim a big lottery prize in Iowa over a 48-hour period. The others were a $1 million Mega Millions prize purchased in Davenport, Iowa, and a $400,000 InstaPlay jackpot purchased in Cascade, Iowa.

"We've never been material people, I can say that," Gordy said in a release. "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. "

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Noelle Alviz-Gransee is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Follow her on Twitter @NoelleHannika or email her at NAlvizGransee@registermedia.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Powerball winner will use prize to rebuild home lost in tornado