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Denison Resident Ron Rothe Claims $1 Million Powerball Prize
CLIVE, Iowa — The weight of a $1 million Powerball win left a Denison man so jittery, he tackled household chores just to steady himself.
“I went home and I was nervous, so I vacuumed,” Ron Rothe said with a chuckle Monday afternoon as he claimed his prize at the lottery's main office in Clive.
Rothe's easy-pick ticket matched all five white balls but missed the Powerball to win $1 million in the Sept. 13 drawing. His ticket was one of only four nationwide to hit that mark.
The 73-year-old admitted his lucky ticket spent nearly a week riding around in his glove compartment before he realized its value. Even after hearing that the winning ticket was sold in Denison, he never imagined he was the one holding it.
“We had heard rumors that so-and-so won, so we never really even thought about it,” he said.
A week later, Rothe stopped at Kimmes Denison Country Store, 1108 Fourth Ave. S., to buy tickets for the next three drawings. While there, he asked a clerk to check the tickets he'd purchased the previous week.
“She comes back with the manager, a big smile on her face, sticks her hand out and goes, 'Congratulations!'” he recalled. “I said, 'For what?' She goes, 'You won a million dollars!' It's like, 'OK?!'”
Dumbfounded, Rothe brought the ticket and receipt showing the prize amount to his wife's hair salon to share the news.
“She goes, 'Oh, you won a thousand dollars!'” Rothe recalled with a laugh. “I go, 'No.' She looks again and goes, 'A million?!'”
Kimmes Denison Country Store will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $1 million-winning ticket.
Pat, Rothe's wife of 53 years, said both she and her husband are still pinching themselves.
“I'm still not sure it's really sunk in, if you want to know the truth,” she said. “It has taken some for us to get past the basic shock.”
The couple said they plan to put the winnings toward home improvements, estate planning, charitable donations and funding college savings accounts for their two grandchildren.
Players in $2 Powerball choose their first five numbers from a pool of 69, and another number – called the Powerball – from a separate pool of 26. The Power Play option is available for an extra $1 per play.
Since getting its start in April 1992 in 15 states with jackpots that started at a guaranteed $2 million, Powerball has grown into one of the world's biggest and most recognizable lottery games. Today Powerball is played by 48 lotteries across the country with drawings at 9:59 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
