More than half a million dollars was stolen early Tuesday from record Powerball winner Jack Whittaker's vehicle parked outside a strip club, but the money was recovered, a sheriff's deputy said.

Someone broke a window in Jack Whittaker's sport utility vehicle around 2:30 a.m. and took a briefcase containing $245,000 in cash and three blank $100,000 cashier's checks, Kanawha County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Phil Morris said.

The briefcase, cash and checks were later found behind a trash bin on the property, Morris said.

Whittaker "gambles quite a bit, and we believe that's the reason that the large sum of money was in (his) possession at this time," he told the Charleston Daily Mail.

Whittaker claimed a $113 million cash option after winning a record $314.9 million Powerball jackpot on Christmas Day. He promised to give a tenth of his winnings to churches, and has so far given away at least $3 million, the newspaper said.

Police have suspects but no arrests have been made, Morris said. A window on a second vehicle parked on the lot also was broken, he said.

Whittaker was at the club later Tuesday morning but left without commenting. His spokesman, Bill Bissett, did not return a telephone message seeking comment.

The Pink Pony is about a mile from Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming in Nitro, but it was not clear if Whittaker had been at the greyhound track.