The world record-breaking $1.9 billion Powerball drawing was postponed because a participating lottery needed more time to process its sales, officials said. The state with the problems was not named.
“Powerball requires the 48 participating lotteries to submit sales and play data before winning numbers are selected. Once Powerball receives the pending submission, the drawing may proceed,” the lottery said. California Lottery officials tweeted additional information: The latest from the #Powerball officials. pic.twitter.com/oqwzFNBk9R — CA Lottery Press (@calotterypress) November 8, 2022 Winning numbers and drawing video will be posted on the Powerball website and YouTube channel. Players should keep their tickets, the Multistate Lottery Association said in a statement. The jackpot is nearly $400 million more than the previous Saturday night jackpot record of about $1.6 billion and will continue to grow until someone wins the prize. Only four previous jackpots have topped $1 billion, but none have even come close to the current one, which started at $20 million on Aug. 6 and over three months without a win has gotten bigger and bigger. No one has won the jackpot since August 3rd. A winner who chooses an annuity, paid annually for 29 years, will receive an estimated payout of $1.9 billion. Almost all winners instead opt for cash, which for Monday’s drawing would have been $929.1 million. All prize amounts are pre-tax.
Even as more people attracted to the giant prize drop $2 on a Powerball ticket, Game 1’s extremely large payout of 292.2 million means there’s still a good chance another drawing will go by without someone winning the big prize . That would push the jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing to more than $2 billion. Those who spend $2 on a Powerball ticket might wonder if something is wrong when 40 drawings go by without a jackpot winner, but that’s how the game is designed: Odds of 1 in 292 million make it unlikely that someone will win the prize until it increases. jackpot attracts more players. And more ticket sales means the lottery can raise more money for public programs, which is what state lotteries are all about. But it’s been a long time without a jackpot, and if there’s no winner sometime Tuesday because of the delay, another kind of record will have been reached: 41 draws without anyone matching all six numbers. The game is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Tickets are $2 each. Powerball drawings are live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 PM ET and streamed live on Powerball.com. When a Powerball ticket is purchased, the player is asked to select five numbers between 1 and 69 and one number between 1 and 26, for a total of six digits printed on a game ticket. Those who prefer not to pick numbers themselves can choose the lottery terminal to pick their numbers at random. Smaller prizes are awarded to players who have tickets with numbers that partially match the sequence announced during a drawing. To win the jackpot, a ticket must match all six numbers, including the final Powerball number. — Emily Mae Czachor contributed reporting.