Three months have passed since Powerball last produced a winner, which has caused the lottery’s jackpot to climb gradually. Why not add a few more hours to the wait?
The lottery could not hold its Monday evening drawing on time, meaning the numbers from last night's game will likely be drawn this morning. Powerball partners with 48 different state and territorial lotteries, and according to officials, one participating lottery needed more time to process its sales and play data.
"Powerball has stringent security requirements to protect the integrity of the game and remains committed to holding a drawing that gives all players a fair chance to win," Powerball officials said in a statement.
After having its 40th drawing in a row without a winner on Saturday, Powerball upped Monday’s jackpot to a record $1.9 billion. The previously largest U.S. lottery jackpot was the Jan. 13, 2016 Powerball drawing, which was worth $1.586 billion.
After each drawing without a winner, Powerball increases the jackpot. How much Powerball increases its jackpot is dependent on ticket sales.
The $1.9 billion jackpot figure is based on the winner choosing the annuity option. If the winner takes the lump sum, that person would win $929 million.
The jackpot marks the fifth time in U.S. history a multi-state lottery has offered a jackpot over $1 billion.
The odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 292 million. There have been four winning Powerball tickets sold in 2022
The Powerball jackpot has grown since a winning ticket was sold on Aug. 3.
Powerball also has prizes of $4 up to $2 million. The odds of winning a smaller prize are about 1 in 25.
Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and two U.S. territories.