An Ottumwa woman has claimed the $2 million Powerball prize according to Iowa Lottery officials.
Tammy Gordy says she plans on spending part of her winnings to finish the home she and her husband share that was damaged by a tornado. Now she has more upgrades in mind.
“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. 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!” Tammy Gordy, Powerball Winner
Gordy, 56, works as a dietary aide at a local hospital and said that she 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 told the Iowa Lottery said she realized she’d won big when she used the Iowa Lottery’s mobile app Sunday morning to check some lottery tickets she had in her purse. 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. I couldn’t see! There were all those zeroes! I was like, ‘Maybe I need my glasses.’ So yeah, we screamed.” Tammy Gordy, Powerball Winner
Tammy Gordy said that she and Steve shared the news with their four adult children and their extended family before claiming their prize and had a hard time getting them to believe the news at first.
“I am a jokester, but not to that extent,” she said.
