FEBRUARY 14, 2023:
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The winner of November’s record-high $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot was identified in California on Tuesday (Feb. 14, 2023), the state lottery announced.
California Lottery Director Alva Johnson said the winner was a man named Edwin Castro, but released no other information about him, including his hometown.
Castro declined to appear at the press conference but sent a statement.
“As much as I am shocked and ecstatic to have won the Powerball drawing the real winner is the California Public School System,” it said. “As someone who received the rewards of being educated in the California public education system, it’s gratifying to hear that as a result of my win the California School System greatly benefits as well.”
A law approved by voters in 1984 established the California Lottery to provide supplemental funding to the state’s public schools.
The jackpot ticket was sold at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, an unincorporated foothill community northeast of Los Angeles. For selling the winning ticket, business owner Joe Chahayed received a bonus of $1 million.
Officials are considering putting the winning ticket on display, Lottery Deputy Director Carolyn Becker said.
The jackpot grew to the staggering amount of $2.04 billion after more than three months without anyone coming up with all the right numbers for the top prize.
The winning numbers were selected Nov. 8 in Florida after a nearly 10-hour delay due to a problem processing sales data.
NOVEMBER 11, 2022:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Lottery says a technical issue with its two-tiered verification process was to blame for a delay in this week’s record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot drawing. Monday night’s (Nov. 7, 2022) scheduled drawing was delayed by nearly 10 hours, until Tuesday morning, while lottery officials addressed the problem. The Multi-State Lottery Association said at the time that a participating lottery couldn’t process its sales data. Officials with the Minnesota Lottery said Thursday that data in its two-tier verification system didn’t match up, and officials had to reprocess the entire day’s sales. Once all of the data matched up, the drawing was held Tuesday at 8:57 a.m. EST. Someone who bought a ticket in Southern California had all of the winning numbers.
NOVEMBER 8, 2022, UPDATE:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Someone who bought a Powerball ticket in California has won a record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot. The winning numbers drawn Tuesday morning (Nov. 8, 2022) at the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee were: white balls 10, 33, 41, 47 and 56, and the red Powerball was 10. The jackpot ticket was sold at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, northeast of Los Angeles. A voicemail left for Joe’s Service Center was not immediately returned. The Multi-State Lottery Association said Monday night’s scheduled drawing was delayed by nearly 10 hours until Tuesday because a participating lottery had issues processing sales. The jackpot was by far the largest lottery jackpot ever won, topping the previous record $1.586 billion prize won by three Powerball ticketholders in 2016.
NOVEMBER 8, 2022, UPDATE:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The numbers for a record-breaking $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot have been drawn following a nearly 10-hour delay and players were awaiting the announcement of a possible winner. The numbers for the drawing held at the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee were: white balls 10, 33, 41, 47 and 56, and the red Powerball was 10. The Multi-State Lottery Association says Monday night’s (Nov. 7, 2022) Powerball drawing was delayed until Tuesday morning because a participating lottery had issues processing sales. The association said it was against its policy to say which lottery had the delay. The jackpot was reported as an estimated $1.9 billion on Monday, but was $2.04 billion Tuesday morning. It wasn’t immediately known whether any jackpot-winning tickets were sold.
NOVEMBER 8, 2022:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Multi-State Lottery Association says that the Powerball drawing was delayed Monday (Nov. 7, 2022) and it’s likely that the official results won’t be known until later Tuesday. The record-breaking $1.9 billion Powerball drawing was delayed because a participating lottery had issues processing sales. In a statement to the Associated Press, the lottery said: “Powerball requires all 48 participating lotteries to submit their sales and play data prior to the winning numbers being selected. Once Powerball receives the outstanding submission, the drawing can proceed.” The winning numbers and recorded video of the drawing will be posted to the Powerball website and YouTube channel. The game is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
NOVEMBER 7, 2022:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The estimated $1.9 billion Powerball jackpot is nearly $400 million larger than the previous record jackpot and will keep growing until someone finally wins the prize. The jackpot started at $20 million back on Aug. 6 and over three winless months has grown to be 95 times as large ahead of Monday night’s (Nov. 7, 2022) drawing. That’s a long time without a winner but this is how the game is designed. With odds of 1 in 292 million, that means it’s unlikely anyone will win the prize until a growing jackpot attracts more players. And more ticket sales mean the lottery can raise more money for public programs, which is the point of the state lotteries.
NOVEMBER 6, 2022:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A record Powerball jackpot grew to an even larger $1.9 billion after no one won the lottery drawing on Saturday night (Nov. 5, 2o22). The numbers for the drawing were: white balls 28, 45, 53, 56, 69 and red Powerball 20. The next chance for someone to get lucky will be Monday night. The new $1.9 billion jackpot is for a winner who is paid through an annuity over 29 years. Winners of lottery jackpots usually prefer a lump sum of cash, which the Multi-State Lottery Association says would be $929.1 million for Monday’s drawing. The odds of any given ticket winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. Those long odds have led to three months going by without anyone matching all six balls.
NOVEMBER 3, 2022:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The bad news is that no one won Wednesday night’s (Nov. 2, 2022) huge $1.2 billion Powerball jackpot. The good news is that means the prize has grown even larger to $1.5 billion ahead of the next drawing Saturday night. That is the third-largest lottery prize in U.S. history. The numbers drawn Wednesday night were: 2, 11, 22, 35, 60 and the red powerball 23. No one has won the top Powerball prize since Aug. 3, making for 39 consecutive drawings without anyone matching all six numbers. What’s behind three months of lottery futility? It’s simple math. The odds of winning the jackpot are an abysmal 1 in 292.2 million.
NOVEMBER 2, 2022:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Think you’re a sure bet to win an estimated $1.2 billion Powerball jackpot? If so, you need to decide whether to take cash, which would actually pay out $596.7 million, or choose the $1.2 billion annuity option that is twice as large but is paid out over 29 years. Winners of giant jackpots like the one up for grabs Wednesday night (Nov. 2, 2022) nearly always take the cash, and financial advisors say that might be a mistake. Nicholas Bunio, a certified financial planner from Downingtown, Pennsylvania, said that even with his expertise, he would take an annuity because it would so dramatically lessen his risk of making an investment mistake.
NOVEMBER 1, 2022, UPDATE:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The fourth-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history could soar to the largest ever if no one wins the top prize in Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing. The jackpot climbed to $1.2 billion after no one matched all six numbers Monday night (Oct. 31, 2022) to win the jackpot. That makes 38 consecutive draws without a jackpot winner since the last person won the big prize on Aug. 3. The jackpot grows after every drawing without a winner and now is approaching the record of $1.586 billion won by three Powerball players in 2016. The second- and third-largest prizes were hit by players of the Mega Millions lottery game.
NOVEMBER 1, 2022:
UNDATED (AP)- There were no big treats from the Halloween night Powerball drawing, as none of the tickets sold matched all six numbers. The lack of a winner means the next drawing Wednesday night (Nov. 2, 2022) will be for a massive $1.2 billion jackpot. The winning numbers drawn Monday were: white balls 13, 19, 36, 39, 59 and the red power ball 13. The increased jackpot will be the 4th-largest in U.S. history. The biggest prize was a $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot won by three ticketholders in 2016. Massive lottery jackpots have become more common in recent years as lottery officials have adjusted game rules and ticket prices to pump up the top prizes.
OCTOBER 31, 2022:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — People are showing up at convenience stores, groceries and gas stations across the country to snatch up lottery tickets for a chance at a massive $1 billion Powerball jackpot. The jackpot for Monday night’s (Oct. 31, 2022) drawing soared after no one matched all six numbers in Saturday night’s drawing. It’s the fifth-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history. The biggest prize was a $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot won by three ticketholders in 2016. No one has hit all six numbers since Aug. 3, a testament to how slim the odds are of winning the jackpot: 1 in 292.2 million. Monday’s huge jackpot comes less than two years after a Mega Millions lottery ticket matched all six numbers to win a $1.05 billion dollar jackpot.
OCTOBER 30, 2022:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Powerball jackpot keeps getting larger because players keep losing. It happened again Saturday night (Oct. 29, 2022) as no one matched all six numbers and won the estimated $825 million grand prize. That means the next drawing Monday night will be for a massive $1 billion through an annuity or $497.3 million in cash. The winning numbers Saturday night were: white balls 19, 31, 40, 46, 57 and the red power ball 23. A Florida ticket holder scooped up $2 million by matching all five white balls and six tickets won $1 million each, including two in California, two in Michigan, one in Maryland and one in Texas. Monday’s increased jackpot will remain the fifth-largest in U.S. history. The biggest prize was a $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot won by three ticket holders in 2016.
OCTOBER 27, 2022:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — No one won an estimated $700 million Powerball jackpot, meaning the big prize will grow to an estimated $800 million for the next drawing. The numbers drawn Wednesday night (Oct. 26, 2022) were: 19, 36, 37, 46 and 56. The Powerball was 24. No one has matched all six numbers and won the Powerball jackpot since Aug. 3, allowing the prize to grow to the fifth-largest in U.S. history. That amounts to 36 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner. The next drawing is Saturday. The new $800 million jackpot amount is for winners who take their winnings through an annuity, paid annually over 29 years. Nearly all winners actually choose the cash option, however, which would be $383.7 million after taxes.
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