Des Moines, Iowa – The Powerball drawing scheduled for Monday night has been delayed and official results won’t be known until Tuesday morning, the Multistate Lottery Association said in a statement.
The world-record $1.9 billion Powerball drawing was called off because the participating lottery needed too much time to process its sales, officials said. The state with the issues was not named.
“All 48 participating Powerball lotteries must submit their sales and data before selecting winning numbers. Once Powerball receives the pending submission, the drawing may proceed,” the lottery said.
California Lottery officials tweeted additional information:
A recorded video of the winning numbers and drawing will be posted on the Powerball website and YouTube channel. Players should keep their tickets, a statement from the Multi-State Lottery Association said.
The jackpot is nearly $400 million The previous record Saturday night jackpot was about $1.6 billion It keeps growing until someone wins the prize.
Only four previous jackpots have topped $1 billion, but none have come close to the current one, which started at $20 million on Aug. 6 and has grown even bigger in three winless months. No one has won the jackpot since Aug. 3.
The winner, who chooses an annuity paid annually over 29 years, will receive an estimated $1.9 billion payout. Almost all winners choose cash, with $929.1 million up for grabs on Monday.
All prize amounts are pre-tax.
Even if more people are attracted to the giant prize drop of $2 on a Powerball ticket, the game’s longest odds are 1 in 292.2 million, so there’s still a good chance another drawing will go by without anyone winning the big prize. That would boost the jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing to more than $2 billion.
People who spend $2 on a Powerball ticket might wonder if something went wrong when 40 drawings go by without a jackpot winner, but the game is designed: it’s impossible for anyone to win the prize until the odds grow to 1 in 292 million. Jackpot attracts more players. And more ticket sales means the lottery raises more money for public programs, which is the point of state lotteries. Still, it’s been a long time without a jackpot, and if there wasn’t a winner Tuesday because of the delay, another kind of record would have been reached: 41 draws without anyone matching all six numbers.
The game is played in 45 states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Tickets are $2 each.
Powerball Draws will be telecasted live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 PM and telecast live. Powerball.com.
When buying a Powerball ticket, the player is asked to choose five numbers from 1 to 69 and one number from 1 to 26, with a total of six figures printed on a play slip. Those who don’t want to pick numbers can choose a lottery terminal and pick their numbers randomly.
Small prizes are awarded to players who hold tickets with numbers that partially match the order announced during the drawing. To win the jackpot, the ticket must match all six numbers, including the final Powerball number.
— Emily Mae Czachor contributed reporting.
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