Ticket sold in California wins record $2.04B Powerball jackpot

Someone who bought a Powerball ticket in Southern California has won a record $2.04 billion jackpot after more than three months without anyone hitting the top prize.

The winning numbers were selected on Tuesday morning, nearly 10 hours after the scheduled Monday night drawing because of problems processing sales data at one of the game's member lotteries. Lottery officials acknowledged the unprecedented delay for such a high-profile drawing but said the game’s security process took precedence.

"Protecting the integrity of the draw is of utmost importance, and we were able to do that during this historic drawing with the cooperation of all participating lotteries," said Drew Svitko, the chairman of the Powerball Product Group and executive director of the Pennsylvania Lottery.

The $2.04 billion prize is for a winner who chooses an annuity, paid annually over 29 years. Nearly all winners instead opt for cash, which was valued at $997.6 million.

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.

Prize for ticket seller 

On Tuesday afternoon, the Minnesota Lottery acknowledged their sales verification system caused the lengthy delay.

The winning numbers drawn on Tuesday morning at the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee were: white balls 10, 33, 41, 47 and 56, and the red Powerball was 10.

The jackpot ticket was sold at Joe's Service Center in Altadena, an unincorporated community in the foothills northeast of Los Angeles. For selling the winning ticket, business owner Joe Chahayed will receive a maximum Powerball bonus of $1 million.

"I'm very surprised. Very excited. Very happy," said Chahayed, who wore a bright yellow California Lottery shirt and cap.

The $2.04 billion jackpot was by far the largest lottery prize ever won, topping the previous record $1.586 billion prize won by three Powerball ticketholders in 2016. 

Only four previous jackpots have topped $1 billion, but none of those are close to the current prize, which started at $20 million back on August 6 and has grown over three winless months. No one has won the jackpot since August 3.

The game is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.