The winner bought the ticket in California after a toss-up that went on for three months without anyone winning the top prize. The jackpot ticket was sold at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, northeast of Los Angeles. Powerball players who shop at Joe’s will now rush to check if they’ve become the nation’s latest billionaire. Whoever he is has become the 1,292nd richest person in the world, according to the latest Forbes billionaires list. He ranks with nearly 50 other billionaires, including those who have amassed their fortunes in the oil industry, real estate and Greek yogurt. The winning numbers drawn at the Florida Lottery studio in Tallahassee were white balls 10, 33, 41, 47 and 56. The red Powerball was a 10. The winner had to guess all six lucky numbers, including the final Powerball, to win the jackpot. The new jackpot surpasses the previous record prize of $1.586bn (£1.398bn) won in 2016 by three Powerball players in California, Florida and Tennessee. The latest jackpot reached $1.9bn (£1.6bn) on Monday, but has risen to $2.04bn (£1.8bn) this morning after updated calculations. The holder of the winning ticket is the first to win a Powerball jackpot since August 3, when a player from Pennsylvania took home more than $200m (£177m). This streak of 39 consecutive draws without a winner was a reflection of the difficult odds of winning a jackpot – at one in 292.2 million. Only four previous jackpots have topped $1bn (around £860m) but none of them come close to today’s prize, which started at $20m (£17m) on August 6 but has swelled to three months without a win. More from US: Analysis: Biden’s career hangs in the balance while Trump is all smiles Instagram influencer who tried to steal £100m from jailed Premier League club Meteor could have brought down a man’s house from California The final draw was due to take place on Monday night but was delayed until 8.57am. EST (1.57pm UK) on Tuesday. The Multistate Lottery Association said the drawing was delayed because a participating lottery had problems processing sales. The club said it was against its policy to say which lottery had the delay. The $2.04 billion prize is for a winner who chooses an annuity, paid annually for 29 years. Almost all winners are cash picks, but the value of that pick was not immediately available Tuesday morning. The game is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
