(Clive, IA) -- An Ottumwa woman has claimed a $2 million Powerball lottery prize. Tammy Gordy says she'll use part of her winnings to finish a home she and her husband are building, to replace the house they lost in a tornado years ago. Gordy's was one of three big prizes recently. A Mega Millions ticket sold in Davenport is worth $1 million dollars. An InstaPlay ticket sold in Cascade is worth 400-thousand dollars.
Gordy and her husband, Steve, lived in Agency in April 2001 when the Wapello County community was heavily damaged by a tornado. The Gordys’ home was destroyed in the storm.
Tammy Gordy used the Iowa Lottery’s mobile app Sunday morning to check some lottery tickets she had in her purse. She says she was flabbergasted when the results of one of her Powerball tickets showed it had won a $2 million prize.
“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.”
Tammy Gordy’s ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Powerball to initially win a $1 million prize in the game’s Saturday drawing. But she had added the Power Play® option to her play, which multiplied prizes at the Match 5 level to $2 million.
Tammy Gordy said she bought just one easy-pick ticket for Saturday’s drawing and it was the only one in the country to win a $2 million prize that night.
Gordy bought her winning ticket at Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh, 1027 N. Quincy Ave. in Ottumwa.