One winner claims all of Powerball’s record-breaking $2.04 billion jackpot

New York Daily News, The (NY)

One lucky person from California became the lone winner of Powerball’s record-breaking $2.04 billion jackpot on Tuesday, hours after Monday night’s scheduled drawing was delayed.

The winning ticket was sold at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena in Los Angeles County, according to the California Lottery. Another three tickets also matched 5 numbers, missing just the Powerball in Gardena, Beaumont, and San Francisco.

“California Lottery makes its FIRST EVER Billionaire!” the agency said in a tweet. “We are so excited and we just can’t hide it.”

The winning numbers are 10-33-41-47-56 and the Powerball was 10. They were announced through the Powerball website and a recorded video shared on the lottery’s YouTube page Tuesday morning, nearly 10 hours after the drawing was scheduled to be broadcast nationwide Monday night, when the pot stood at an estimated $1.9 billion. The prize climbed to a whopping $2.04 billion on Tuesday after calculations were updated.

The winner will have to choose between two different payment options. If they select an annuity, they would receive the estimated $2.04 billion payout spread out over the course of 29 years. But nearly all winners instead go for the cash lump sum, which for Monday’s scheduled drawing would have been $929.1 million.

The value of the cash option wasn’t immediately available on Tuesday for the $2.04 billion prize.

The drawing came after a delay caused by a single participating lottery location, which required additional time to complete the mandated security protocols, the California Lottery said. In a follow-up statement, the Multi-State Lottery Association added that officials were waiting for the lottery to process its sales and play data before announcing the winning ticket.

“Powerball requires all 48 participating lotteries to submit their sales and play data prior to the winning numbers being selected,” it said. “Once Powerball receives the outstanding submission, the drawing can proceed.”

The Association also noted it is “against our policy to name the lottery that is experiencing the delay,” adding that Powerball was “in communication with the lottery throughout the night as it works to resolve the issue.”

The jackpot marks only the third time ever in U.S. lotto history that winnings have surpassed $1.5 billion. It happened most recently in 2016, when the prize stood at a grand total of $1.586 billion. It was ultimately split between three people.

With News Wire Services