Anthony Yates
A couple in Iowa won a life-changing amount of money from the lottery despite the ticket rattling around in their car’s glove compartment for almost a week.
Videos by Rare
What happened: IALottery shared the couple’s good fortune in a news release, explaining they hit the jackpot on the September 13 Powerball draw.
- The husband, Ron Rothe, purchased an easy-pick ticket from Kimmes Denison Country Store, 1108 Fourth Ave. S. He matched all five numbers excluding the Powerball. Lottery officials note his ticket was one of only four nationwide to do the same.
- The 73-year-old said he heard that someone in the county had won, but never thought it could be him. He admitted the ticket stayed in his glove compartment for days until he handed it to a store clerk to check it.
- “She comes back with the manager, a big smile on her face, sticks her hand out and goes, ‘Congratulations!,” Rothe explained. “I said, ‘For what?’ She goes, ‘You won a million dollars!’ It’s like, ‘OK?!” The lucky husband told lottery officials he didn’t know what to do with himself. “I went home and I was nervous, so I vacuumed,” he said.
The Husband Showed The Lottery Ticket To His Wife While She Was In A Salon
A few zeros off: Rothe revealed he took his winning ticket to the hair salon to show his wife. When she first saw the ticket, she believed her husband had won $1,000. He told lottery officials, “I go, ‘No.’ She looks again and goes, ‘A million?!'”
- The couple stated they are still trying to process the life-changing prize. Ron’s wife Pat said, “I’m still not sure it’s really sunk in, if you want to know the truth. It has taken some for us to get past the basic shock.”
- Pat and Ron told lottery officials they plan to put some of their winnings toward home improvement and estate planning. They also plan to donate some money to charity and put some in their grandchildren’s college funds. The news release also notes that Kimmes Denison Country Store will get $1,000 for selling the winning ticket.
