$1.9 Billion Powerball Jackpot Drawing Delayed by Security Hitch - The New York Times

The appointed clip came to spot who mightiness person won a grounds $1.9 cardinal Powerball jackpot, but arsenic Monday nighttime turned into Tuesday morning, the suspense continued arsenic an unspecified “security protocol” prevented numbers from being drawn.

Powerball said successful a statement that the drafting had been delayed due to the fact that a participating lottery needed “extra clip to implicit the required information protocols.” It did not specify what those protocols were oregon what precisely had occurred.

“Powerball has strict information requirements that indispensable beryllium met by each 48 lotteries earlier a drafting tin occur,” the relation said.

The victor would person the largest payout successful U.S. lottery history, eclipsing the $1.586 cardinal payout successful 2016 divided among 3 Powerball winners successful California, Florida and Tennessee, which acceptable a satellite record, officials said.

Monday night’s event, primitively scheduled at 10:59 Eastern time, came aft 40 consecutive drawings without a winner, tying a grounds acceptable past twelvemonth for the top fig of consecutive drawings without a winner. That Powerball jackpot tally ended connected Oct. 4, 2021, with a $699.8 cardinal victor successful California aft 41 drawings.

“Like the remainder of America, and the world, I deliberation we’re each anxious to find retired erstwhile this historical jackpot volition yet beryllium won,” Drew Svitko, the president of the Powerball Product Group and enforcement manager of the Pennsylvania Lottery, said successful a statement.

The winner, if determination is one, tin person the prize paid successful a lump sum, worthy $929.1 million, oregon successful 30 graduated payments implicit 29 years, worthy $1.9 billion. The archetypal happening winners should do, according to experts, is question proposal from a lawyer, a fiscal advisor and an accountant. And winners should probe the professionals they crook to for help, checking the presumption of their licenses and getting references. (Those resources are online.)

The Powerball prize is the 2nd billion-dollar jackpot successful caller months. This summer, a azygous Mega Millions summons sold successful Des Plaines, Ill., won $1.34 billion. Previous billion-dollar jackpots were won successful 2016, 2018 and 2021.

For much than a week, the ever-rising Powerball jackpot has acceptable disconnected a frenzy of ticket-buying crossed the state by regular lottery players and adjacent immoderate skeptics, hopeful that the likelihood of winning, 1 successful 292.2 million, volition tilt successful their favor.

On Monday greeting astatine a Wawa convenience store successful Manassas, Va., immoderate 30 miles southwest of Washington, Seymour Jordan, 61, picked retired Powerball numbers connected a instrumentality portion a antheral waited patiently down him.

Mr. Jordan said helium and 5 co-workers astatine a information services institution had pooled their money, each of them kicking successful $12 for the latest draw. It is the 4th clip that the radical has teamed up to effort to bushed the agelong odds; they’ve won astir $30 truthful far, helium said.

Today, helium said, helium conscionable purchased 1 acceptable for himself, envisioning taking attraction of his church, his 2 big children and 11 grandchildren. “It could alteration my beingness and my family’s beingness for the remainder of our lives,” helium said, contemplating a win. But, helium added: “My woman is like, ‘I privation you would stop’.”

Some were hoping the agelong changeable would autumn their way. At a 7-Eleven convenience store successful Gainesville, Va., a promotion offered a “fortune & cookie” for $3: 1 dollar for the cooky and $2 for a acceptable of Powerball numbers. Customers similar David Gudinas, 52, were occasional lottery players, but the outsize jackpot was excessively tempting to walk up.

Mr. Gudinas, who has a 17-year-old girl headed to assemblage adjacent year, bought 5 tickets, though helium admitted that the likelihood were stacked against him.

“I thought it was worthy the $10 for the amusement value,” said Mr. Gudinas, who said helium was a national employee. He said helium would “save some, walk some” and astir apt tuck distant a money for assemblage tuition if helium won.

But helium was not readying to enactment up for the late-night drawing. “I volition astir apt beryllium asleep,” helium said.

At a Chevron state presumption successful Miami connected Thursday, Ruben Perez, 82, had a program for what helium would bash with the jackpot.

He said helium would “take my woman and spell determination better” than Miami, wherever helium has lived for 20 years. One imaginable destination, helium said, would beryllium his wife’s autochthonal Honduras.

Mr. Perez, a erstwhile constabulary serviceman and a longtime Powerball player, said helium usually spent astir $50 a week connected the tickets.

“I conscionable anticipation idiosyncratic that needs it, gets it,” helium added. “Even if it’s not me.”

Players tin bargain a $2 Powerball summons successful 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The 5 states that bash not enactment are Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah.

In Franklin County and Oneida County, Idaho, which gully Powerball players from neighboring Utah, summons income were up 597 percent past week compared with “a much accepted week a period ago,” erstwhile the jackpot was astir $354 million, David Workman, a spokesperson for the Idaho Lottery, said successful an email.

States oversee lottery operations and person antithetic rules for however winnings are taxed and whether the names of the winners indispensable beryllium made public.

In Florida, anyone tin petition a winner’s name, metropolis of residence and the magnitude they won. People who triumph $250,000 oregon much are exempt from this regularisation for 90 days from the time that they assertion the prize.

In Miami, Janice Lusky Greenspan said that she played the lottery a fewer times each year, usually buying 5 oregon 10 tickets astatine a time, but the grounds Powerball jackpot inspired her to bargain 15 tickets astatine a Publix supermarket connected Thursday greeting aft she dropped her lad disconnected astatine his precocious school.

“First happening I bash aft I win?” she said. “Change my telephone number.”

Christine Chung, , Derrick Bryson Taylor and Eduardo Medina contributed reporting.