UPDATE: 6:58 a.m The numbers for the record-breaking $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot have been drawn after a delay, and players have been waiting for the potential winner to be announced. The numbers for the drawing held in Tallahassee, Florida were: white balls 10, 33, 41, 47 and 56 and the red Powerball was 10. The Multi-State Lottery Association says Monday night’s Powerball drawing was delayed until Tuesday morning because a participating lottery had problems processing sales. The club said it was against its policy to say which lottery had the delay. The jackpot was reported at $1.9 billion on Monday, but was $2.04 billion on Tuesday morning after updated calculations. ORIGINAL: 6:05 AM The Powerball drawing was delayed Monday and the official results likely won’t be known until late Tuesday, the Multistate Lottery Association said in a statement. The record-breaking $1.9 billion Powerball drawing was delayed because a participating lottery had problems processing sales, officials said. “Powerball requires all 48 participating lotteries to submit sales and play data before winning numbers are selected. Once Powerball receives the pending submission, the drawing can proceed,” the lottery said in a statement to The Associated Press. Almost three hours after the scheduled draw at 10:59 p.m. EST, the association told the AP, “It is against our policy to call the lottery that faces the delay.” Winning numbers and drawing video will be posted on the Powerball website and YouTube channel. Players should keep their tickets, the statement said. The jackpot is nearly $400 million larger than the previous record jackpot and will continue to grow until someone wins the prize. Only four previous jackpots have exceeded $1 billion, but none of them come close to the current prize, which started at $20 million on Aug. 6 and has grown increasingly huge after more than three months without a win. 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. Even as more people attracted to the giant prize drop $2 on a Powerball ticket, the game’s very high odds of 1 in 292.2 million mean 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 may wonder if something is wrong when 40 draws go by without a jackpot winner, but that’s how the game is designed. With odds of 1 in 292 million, this means it’s unlikely anyone will win the prize until a growing 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. However, it’s been a long time without a jackpot, and if there’s no winner sometime Tuesday because of the delay, a 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.
