Winner picked in record-breaking US$2 billion US lottery Powerball jackpot
- A single winning ticket was sold in California, ending a string of 40 drawings that pushed the top prize to the highest in the world for a lottery
- The odds of matching all six numbers in the drawing – 10, 33, 41, 47, 56 and 10 – were 1 in 292.2 million
A Powerball player in California holds the only winning ticket sold for the US$2.04 billion jackpot, the lottery game’s website said on Tuesday, ending a string of 40 drawings that produced no winners and pushed the top prize into record territory.
The ticket holder, whose identity was not disclosed, has a choice of taking a lump sum of US$997.6 million cash or receiving the full amount in 29 annual payments.
The odds of matching all six numbers in the drawing – 10, 33, 41, 47, 56 and 10 – were 1 in 292.2 million.
The ticket was sold at Joe’s Service Centre in Altadena, California, about 8km north of Pasadena in Los Angeles County.
For selling the winning ticket, business owner Joe Chahayed will receive a maximum Powerball bonus of $1 million.
The previous record for a Powerball jackpot was set in 2016 when three ticket holders from California, Florida and Tennessee shared a US$1.59 billion top prize.
The US$2.04 billion Powerball jackpot ranks as a world record for a lottery top prize, according to multiple media reports.
The drawing, which had been scheduled for 10.59pm on Monday, was delayed for hours when at least one of the 48 participating state lotteries needed more processing time, according to a tweet from the California Lottery.
It did not identify the state in question.
Officials of the Multi-State Lottery Commission, which supervises the Powerball drawing, could not be reached by Reuters for comment.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
