The Powerball website crashed Monday night as people flooded it to watch the record live drawing for the $2 billion jackpot.
Draw was delayed for several hours
Texans can’t purchase Powerball tickets on the Texas Lottery website, but they can buy them through the Jackpocket app. They can also purchase tickets at thousands of retailers across The Lone Star State.
As players maddeningly refreshed their browsers Monday night, word trickled in from lottery authorities that the Powerball draw was delayed. At the time, no one elaborated, but after hours of waiting, the word came in. One participating lottery needed extra time to “complete the required security protocols.” Per company policy, the state lottery in question was not named.
Finally, Tuesday morning, the winning numbers came down. They were: 10, 33, 41, 47, 56; Powerball: 10; Multiplier: 2X
After an overnight delay, a winner emerged in Altadena, California
After the Monday delay, the expected $1.9 billion jackpot swelled to $2.04 billion. Conflicting reports Tuesday morning indicated a winning ticket had not been sold. However, around noon the California Lottery announced a winner.
California Lottery makes its FIRST EVER Billionaire! One lucky ticket sold at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena matched all 6 numbers in the November 7 #Powerball draw. The final jackpot amount for this draw came to $2.04 BILLION dollars. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/9mSEAh18s1
— California Lottery (@calottery) November 8, 2022
The ticket was sold in Altadena, a small community of 42,000 people northeast of Los Angeles.
Surging ticket sales boost Powerball jackpot
Major interstate lotteries like Powerball and Mega Millions pick up speed slowly, but once they do, the growth skyrockets.
This Powerball cycle started with the prerequisite $40 million jackpot on Aug.3. It took 37 drawings – three a week – for the jackpot to reach $1 billion. This occurred on Halloween, roughly three months later.
Then, it took only four drawings for the jackpot to reach $2 billion, which it did early Tuesday morning, Nov. 8. The frenzy surrounding the massive jackpot fuels the craze for tickets, which in turn grows the jackpot and the attention surrounding the draws.
With so many Powerball tickets floating around, the chances of the jackpot growing much larger are unlikely, but yet here we are.
Powerball change set the stage for a $1B jackpot
New York State Lottery commissioners initiated the change in Powerball odds in 2015 by proposing an increase in the total number of white balls in the draw.
The proposal, which eventually caught on with other state lotteries, increased the number of balls from 59 to 69. The odds, as a result, increased from 1 in 175 million to 1 in 292 million.
The main reason for making this change: The elusive $1 billion jackpot.
In the previous system, the likelihood of a $1 billion jackpot in any five-year period was roughly 8%. In the new system, the odds in the same five-year period shot up to 65%.
This increase in billion-dollar jackpots led to increased media attention on the spectacular jackpots and increased revenue for the states. It’s no surprise that this change originated with the New York Lottery. New York taxes lottery winnings at the highest rate in the nation.
Texans have already hit big this cycle
While the jackpot continues to grow in advance of Wednesday’s draw, an anonymous Texan in Round Rock won the second-highest Powerball payout last week. This person matched five balls to win $1 million. They did not engage the multiplier which would have doubled that win.
The ticket purchased north of Austin was one of 16 million-dollar tickets won in the Nov. 2 drawing.
Don’t throw away your tickets just yet
While the jackpot has already been claimed, Powerball has a range of winning combinations, so un-wad those tickets and double check that you don’t have one of the following winning combinations. They are:
- Match 5 balls + Powerball: Jackpot
- 5 balls: $1 million
- 4 balls + Powerball: $50,000
- 4 balls: $100
- 3 balls + Powerball: $100
- 3 balls: $7
- 2 balls + Powerball: $7
- 1 ball + Powerball: $4
- Powerball: $4
- 5 balls with Power Play: $2 million
- 4 balls + Powerball with Power Play: $200,000
- 4 balls with Power Play: $400
- 3 balls + Powerball with Power Play: $400
- 3 balls with Power Play: $28
- 2 balls + Powerball with Power Play: $28
- 1 ball + Powerball with Power Play: $16
- Powerball with Power Play: $16
