CNN –
A single winning ticket for the record $2.04 billion Powerball lottery jackpot was sold in Altadena, California, lottery officials said Tuesday, making the lucky ticket holder the winner of the largest lottery prize of history
The ticket was sold at a Joe’s service center, the California Lottery said on Twitter. Results posted on Powerball.com said there was a winner who matched all six numbers in California, whose odds were 1 in 292.2 million, according to the Multistate Lottery Association.
The winning numbers, which were announced Tuesday morning after Monday night’s drawing was delayed, were 10-33-41-47-56 and the Powerball was 10, according to the association.
And while you probably weren’t the prize winner, lotteries ask players to check their tickets if you’d won one of the other, albeit smaller, prizes: According to the Multistate Lottery Association, more than 11, 2 million tickets won cash prizes. for a total of $98.1 million, including 22 tickets that won $1 million prizes for matching all five white numbers but not the Powerball.
The jackpot was a record $1.9 billion but grew to $2.04 billion by the time of the draw, the association said in a statement, “making it the largest lottery prize in the world.” , just as its organizers intended when they changed the odds in 2015.
The announcement came Tuesday after officials delayed the drawing Monday night due to what the Multistate Lottery Association called a “technical issue.”
The association initially said overnight that the delay was caused when a participating lottery needed more time to process its sales and game data, echoing an earlier statement from the California Lottery, which said a lottery needed more time to complete the necessary security protocols.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Minnesota Lottery announced that its sales verification system caused a delay in processing, causing the drawing to be postponed.
“The delay was necessary to confirm that the Powerball drawing could be conducted safely and accurately,” the Minnesota Lottery said in a statement. “At no time was the integrity of the process compromised.”
The 48 participating lotteries must submit their sales and games before winning numbers can be selected, the Multistate Lottery Association said in a statement overnight. “Powerball has strict security requirements to protect the integrity of the game and remains committed to holding a draw that gives all players a fair chance to win,” the association said.
“Like the rest of America, Powerball is eager to celebrate its drawing for the world record jackpot,” the association said in a follow-up statement Tuesday morning before the drawing, “however, protecting the integrity of the draw is of the utmost importance, even if it means further delay,” said the statement early Tuesday, which urged players to hold on to their tickets.
According to the Multistate Lottery Association, Tuesday’s jackpot was awarded in the 41st drawing of the run, marking the sixth time the Powerball has been won in 2022. The last Powerball was won on 3 August in Pennsylvania.
The largest Powerball prize ever won was in January 2016, when three winners shared an announced prize of $1.586 billion. Each took their share of the cash value, which totaled $983.5 million.
Powerball drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 PM ET.
Powerball is played by charging $2 per ticket and having players choose five white balls from the numbers 1 to 69 and one red Powerball from the numbers 1 to 26. If a player gets all six numbers correct, they win the huge jackpot.
The odds of winning the jackpot by matching all 5 numbers and the Powerball number are one in 292.2 million.
Before 2015, however, the white balls were numbered from 1 to 59 and the Powerball was numbered from 1 to 35. The change means that players now have better odds of winning small prizes, but worse odds of hitting the jackpot , making it more likely that large numbers will grow to record sizes.