Powerball: Lucky ticket holder scoops biggest lottery jackpot in history in US

An American has won a record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot after more than three months without anyone hitting the top prize.

The winner, who has so far not been identified, bought the Powerball ticket in Southern California.

The winning numbers were selected Tuesday morning, nearly 10 hours after the scheduled Monday night draw 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 upmost 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 winning numbers drawn 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. A voicemail left for Joe’s Service Center was not immediately returned.

For selling the winning ticket, Joe’s Service Center will receive a maximum Powerball bonus of $1 million.

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.

The jackpot was initially reported as an estimated $1.9 billion on Monday, but the prize was increased to $2.04 billion Tuesday morning after updated calculations.

The winning numbers and recorded video of the drawing were posted to the Powerball’s YouTube channel.

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.