Woman Loses House in Tornado, Wins $2M Lottery 22 Years Later

The now 56-year-old Tammy Gordy and her husband Steve Gordy from Iowa have had it rough for the past 22 years, following a tornado that wiped out their home in 2001. Ever since that accident, the couple has had to rent their living quarters rather than live in a place they finally owned.

Fortune Smiles at the Gordys at Long Last

A house was already underway when the lottery wins worth $2 million dropped, giving the couple the funds to tide them over the next stages of construction. Tammy bought a Powerball ticket and got five numbers straight but missed the sixth.

The original prize she won was $1 million, but because of her using the Power Play option, she actually doubled her win. It all happened on June 24, but Tammy and her husband were none the wiser until the morning of June 25.

Of course, the $2 million cannot be claimed in full, and the couple would have to honor 24% in federal taxes along with $100,000 in state tax, which leaves them on top of $1.42 million which is plenty to finish the house and have something left over to spend on themselves.

One Number Shy of Being Millionaires

In the meantime, the couple is probably a little miffed that fortune did not smile on them too much. One number more, and they would have hit the then-$424-million jackpot, which would have made a big change to their entire life.

In a sense, this is not too crazy, as the odds of having your house destroyed in the United States are 1 in 5.7 million, which is still less than the odds of winning the Powerball, set at 1 in 11.6 million. The Gordys have hit the odds once, and almost a second time. What are the chances they do a third time, too?

Lottery winnings are not too uncommon with the lottery industry being one of the biggest gaming and gambling sectors, spread across commercial and charitable initiatives. In the meantime, the Powerball has still not been won, sitting at over half a billion US dollars.