In the US, a much-anticipated lottery draw with a record jackpot of 1.9 billion dollars (more than 1.9 billion euros) has been postponed in the short term. As the California Lottery lottery company announced Monday evening, the Powerball lottery drawing is being postponed because a participating lottery company needs more time for the prescribed safety measures.
“Powerball has strict security requirements that all 48 lotteries must meet before a draw can take place,” the California Lottery wrote on Twitter. It is still unclear when the draw, which was actually scheduled for Monday, can take place.
Last winner in August
The record jackpot was again uncracked in the last draw on Saturday, rising another $300 million to $1.9 billion – the world’s largest top prize in lottery history.
The jackpot had grown steadily since there was last a winner in early August. Since then, no player has managed to pick six correct numbers in 40 draws. Before Saturday’s draw, the jackpot had already risen to $1.6 billion, making it the “largest lottery prize ever offered in the world,” according to the operator.
Jackpot chance is small
In January 2016, three Powerball players shared the world’s largest jackpot in history, worth $1.586 billion. The second highest jackpot – and the highest won by a single player – was worth $1,537 billion and was struck in the Mega Millions lottery in October 2018.
Powerball tickets cost $2 and are sold in 45 US states, the Capital District of Washington DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The odds of winning the jackpot are about one in 292 million.
(AFP)