Single California ticket wins record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot

Rich Pedroncelli

A single ticket sold in California has won a world record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot.

The winning ticket was sold at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, about 15 miles outside of Downtown Los Angeles, according to the California Lottery.

The owner of Joe’s Service Center was presented Tuesday with a $1 million check. California Lottery did not say whether anyone had come forward to claim the winning ticket, but said more information would be released. In California, winners' names are public record by law.

The Powerball numbers were announced Tuesday morning after lottery officials said there was a delay Monday night.

Many had waited with bated breath for Monday’s result only to learn that the drawing would be delayed, with the Multi-State Lottery Association saying it was waiting on one participating lottery to process its sales.

Powerball requires all 48 participating lotteries to submit their sales and play data before the winning numbers can be selected.

“This has happened a few rare times before — just not when the jackpot was at a newsworthy amount,” the association said as it announced the delay.

The winning numbers were 10, 33, 41, 47, 56 and the Powerball was 10, with the drawing taking place just before 9 a.m. ET at the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee.

More information on the winning ticket will be released by the California Lottery, according to Powerball.

The last winning Powerball ticket was drawn Aug. 3 by a lucky Pennsylvanian.

A winner can choose between taking the prize in 30 payments over 29 years or as a lump-sum payment, with winners opting for the one-time cash payment, which is estimated to be $929.1 million.

Only two previous jackpots have surpassed $1.5 billion.

Among them was a South Carolina player who had the winning ticket of a $1.53 billion Mega Millions game in 2018. Three winning tickets were sold in California, Florida and Tennessee in a $1.58 billion Powerball in 2016.

The chances of picking all six numbers correctly are 1 in 292.2 million.

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