(Adobe Stock)
(CNN) — Officials have finally announced the winning numbers for the record $2.04 billion Powerball lottery jackpot after Monday night’s drawing was delayed when one of the 48 participating lotteries needed more time to complete the necessary protocols.
The winning numbers, which were announced Tuesday morning, are 10-33-41-47-56 and the Powerball was 10, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association.
The jackpot was already a record $1.9 billion but grew to $2.04 billion by the time of the drawing, the association said, “making it the world’s largest lottery prize” — just as its organizers intended when they changed the odds in 2015.
The announcement Tuesday came after officials delayed the drawing Monday night, when one participating lottery needed more time to process its sales and play data, the Multi-State Lottery Association said in a statement, echoing an earlier statement by the California Lottery, which said one lottery needed additional time to complete the necessary security protocols.
Neither statement identified which state had yet to complete the protocols, but California officials said the problem was not due to their lottery.
All 48 participating lotteries are required to submit their sales and plays before the winning numbers can be selected, the Multi-State Lottery Association said in a statement overnight. “Powerball has stringent security requirements to protect the integrity of the game and remains committed to holding a drawing that gives all players a fair chance to win,” the association said.
“Like the rest of America, Powerball is eager to hold its drawing for the world record jackpot,” the association said in a follow-up statement Tuesday morning before the drawing, “however, protecting the integrity of the draw is of upmost importance, even if that means a further delay,” the statement early Tuesday said, urging players to hold on to their tickets.
“Thank you to our players for their patience,” it added. “We look forward to drawing the winning numbers as soon as possible.”
There were no winning tickets sold for Saturday’s drawing of an estimated $1.6 billion, already the highest lotto prize offered. The last Powerball jackpot was won on August 3 in Pennsylvania.
The largest Powerball jackpot ever won was in January 2016, when three winners split a prize advertised at $1.586 billion. Each took their share of the cash value, which added up to $983.5 million.
Powerball draws take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET.
Powerball is played by charging $2 per ticket and having players choose five white balls between the numbers 1 to 69 and a red Powerball from the numbers 1 to 26. If a player gets all six numbers correct, they win the massive jackpot.
The odds of winning the jackpot by matching all 5 numbers and the Powerball number are one in 292.2 million.
Prior to 2015, though, the white balls were numbered 1 to 59 and the Powerball was numbered 1 to 35. The change means that now gamblers have better odds of winning small prizes but worse odds of winning the jackpot, making it more likely that the big number will grow to record sizes.