Powerball ticket sold in California snags record $2.04B jackpot

The jackpot ticket was sold at Joe's Service Center in Altadena, an unincorporated community in the foothills of Los Angeles.

Tuesday, November 8, 2022

Powerball ticket matching 6 numbers sold at Altadena gas stationA Powerball ticket matching all six numbers in the $2.04 billion drawing was sold in Los Angeles County, officials announced Tuesday.

ALTADENA, Calif. -- Someone who bought a Powerball ticket in Southern California has won a record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot after a lengthy delay.

The winning numbers are 10-33-41-47-56 and the Powerball, 10.

What we know about the winner and record-breaking jackpot

The jackpot ticket was sold at Joe's Service Center in Altadena, an unincorporated community in the foothills northeast of Los Angeles.

$2.04B jackpot: Powerball ticket matching all 6 numbers sold at Altadena gas station

For selling the winning ticket, Joe's Service Center will receive a maximum Powerball bonus of $1 million. Store owner Joseph Chahayed told the media his family-owned store has been in business for 20 years.

"I have a big family. I'm gonna split it out on the children," Chahayed said. "My son is expecting a baby, and so we are excited we can nice nice celebration for another baby. I have 11 grandchildren."

According to California law, the winner must reveal their full name. Winners have one year from the date of the winning draw to claim their prize.

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. Only four previous jackpots have topped $1 billion, but none of those are close to the current prize, which started at $20 million back on Aug. 6 and has grown over three winless months. No one has won the jackpot since Aug. 3.

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 $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.

One person in Florida won $2 million, and some Powerball players in several other states won $1 million.

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Drawing delay

The drawing was delayed as lottery officials worked to complete "required security protocols."

In a statement released Monday night, lottery officials noted that one participating lottery was still processing its sales and play data.

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The Minnesota Lottery said after "unprecedented lottery interest, Minnesota's sales verification system caused a processing delay on Monday, Nov. 7. The delay was necessary to confirm the Powerball drawing could be conducted securely and accurately. At no time was the integrity of the process compromised."

Powerball rules state that all requirements must be met by all 48 lotteries before the drawing takes place. When those are completed, the drawing will be performed.

"Powerball has been in communication with the lottery throughout the night as it works to resolve the issue," the statement said. "The delay is unfortunate as the other 47 lotteries were able to complete the required security procedures in a timely fashion."

Once the security procedures were complete, then the drawing could happen.

The winning numbers and video of the drawing were posted to the Powerball website and YouTube channel.

It's not the first delay for this jumbo jackpot: Last month, the Powerball Lottery delayed a drawing when the jackpot was $508 million.

In that case, the numbers were finally drawn about one hour after a "technical problem." Officials did not elaborate on what that problem was.

Powerball fever

Across the country, some waited in line for hours to buy tickets, saying "the line is getting longer and people keep going in"; "that's a lot of zeros on there" and "you can't win if you don't play."

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The current Powerball run began on Aug. 4. There have been 40 drawings without a jackpot winner.

Tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Powerball tickets are $2 each, and players have the option to add the Powerplay for an additional $1 for the chance to multiply non-jackpot prizes.

Powerball drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

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Five states, Utah, Nevada, Hawaii, Alaska and Alabama do not have a lottery. A mixture of reasons have kept the games away, including objections from conservatives or concerns about how a lottery would impact low-income families.

The jackpot for Wednesday's drawing is $20 million.