Former Gov. Vilsack claims $150,000 Iowa Lottery prize

A former Iowa governor and Mt. Pleasant resident is now $150,000 richer, but he almost didn't check his ticket.

Tom Vilsack, who currently lives in Waukee, a western suburb of Des Moines, claimed a $150,000 Powerball prize on Monday according to an Iowa Lottery news release.

The former governor, mayor, state senator and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture said he never expected to win the lottery.

'Occasionally when the Powerball gets about $250 million, I think, ‘What the heck?' You know, you can dream, like everybody else,” Vilsack said in the release.

Vilsack said he does have specific plans for his winnings according to the release including giving some money to his church, his children and his banker.

'And he's going to be very pleased to get it,” Vilsack said. 'Because we still have an outstanding mortgage from many years ago and this will help pay it down to the point where retirement can be a little more comfortable than it might have otherwise been.”

The former governor actually won his prize in the Powerball drawing on Jan. 22 when the game's jackpot was around $347 million according to the release. But Vilsack didn't check his ticket for several days.

'I forgot about the ticket,” he said. 'Then I woke up 10 days later on a Saturday morning and I said, ‘Oh geez, I wonder how I did?'”

Once Vilsack double-checked his numbers, it turns out he did quite well.

Vilsack, who has had years of experience within Iowa's government, said the lottery is important to Iowa and the state's budget.

'It's something that I certainly understand from my experience as a state senator and as a governor and I think it's great,” he said. 'Obviously the whole issue of gaming has been somewhat controversial in every state. But as long as we are providing assistance to those who over-extend themselves, which is unfortunate and tragic, and as long as we use these resources in a way to build our state and make it stronger and better, then I think it's a good thing.”