California ticket holder scoops $2bn jackpot in biggest lottery payout ever - The Guardian US

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The largest ever lottery prize successful history, the $2.04bn Powerball jackpot, has been won.

The US lottery’s official website connected Tuesday showed a summons holder successful California had matched the winning numbers, hours aft an aboriginal Tuesday drafting that had been marred by delays.

The announcement ended a hectic flurry crossed the US arsenic radical successful states that don’t enactment successful the Powerball lottery crossed into states that bash successful bid to bargain tickets for the historical jackpot.

Officials did not place the recently minted billionaire victor of the prize, which was astir $400m larger than the erstwhile grounds jackpot. Joe’s Service Center successful Altadena, California, astir 5 miles (8km) northbound of Pasadena, sold the winning ticket, officials added.

For selling the winning ticket, concern proprietor Joe Chahayed volition person a bonus prize from Powerball of $1m.

Only 4 erstwhile Powerball jackpots had topped $1bn. None came adjacent to Tuesday’s prize, which started astatine $20m connected 6 August – and has present returned to $20m for the adjacent drafting connected Wednesday.

Tuesday’s jackpot victor tin take to receive the afloat prize, paid done an annuity implicit 29 years, oregon a lump sum of currency paid immediately. Winners much often opt for the lump sum, which for Tuesday’s jackpot was $997.6m.

All winnings volition beryllium taxable to national taxes, reducing the payout by much than one-third, and galore states besides taxation lottery winnings successful addition.

Since the last Powerball prize connected 3 August determination had been 40 drawings without a victor – tying the record acceptable past year, according to the Iowa-based Multi-State Lottery Association, which administers the Powerball.

To triumph the apical prize, players indispensable bargain a $2 summons and lucifer each 5 achromatic balls arsenic good arsenic 1 reddish Powerball. The likelihood of doing truthful are 1 successful 292m, which means it’s not antithetic for nary 1 to triumph the prize until a increasing jackpot attracts an expanding fig of players.

Millions of Americans bought tickets arsenic the jackpot roseate implicit aggregate draws successful the past month. Enough tickets were sold for Saturday’s unwon prize of $1.6bn that 62% of the 292.2m imaginable fig combinations were covered.

The Powerball gully unveiled connected Tuesday was delayed from Monday due to the fact that a participating lottery had occupation processing summons sales. Officials did not disclose which participating lottery it was, citing a argumentation against doing so. The winning numbers were 10-33-41-47-56, and the Powerball was 10.

Powerball is played successful 45 states, arsenic good arsenic successful Washington DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. According to the California Lottery, information requirements “must beryllium met by each 48 [participating] lotteries earlier a drafting tin occur”.

The delayed gully was performed aboriginal connected Tuesday “under the supervision of lottery information officials and autarkic auditors”, the California Lottery said.

The record-breaking Powerball jackpot up for grabs is abstracted from a $1.334bn Mega Millions lottery prize claimed successful September.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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