The drawing to Powerball’s record-breaking $1.9 billion jackpot was delayed Monday night as lottery officials needed additional time to complete necessary “security protocols.”
Powerball announced the delay in a statement shortly after the highly-anticipated 11 p.m. drawing.
The Multi-State Lottery Association said early Tuesday morning that the delay was caused by “one participating lottery” that has not yet reported its sales and play data.
“Once Powerball receives the outstanding submission, the drawing can proceed.”
During the 11 p.m. broadcast on Monday, lottery host Laura Johnson explained where ticket holders could check their results once they are made available.
“Because of a technical problem tonight, we are unable to bring you the Powerball drawing at this time. As soon as we are unable to resolve the issue and conduct the drawing, it will be available on Powerball.com.”
It was unclear how long it would take for lottery officials to resolve the issue.
“Powerball has strict security requirements that must be met by all 48 lotteries before a drawing can occur,” officials said in a statement.
“When the required security protocols are complete, the drawing will be performed under the supervision of lottery security officials and independent auditors.”
Powerball players across the country held their breath for the latest record-smashing drawing that could pocket them a grand prize of $1.9 billion or $929.1 million in one lump payment.
There have been 40 consecutive Powerball drawings without a jackpot winner dating back to Aug. 3.
Still, dozens of customers have cashed in on prizes of $1 million or $2 million during that span.
One lucky player in Kentucky won $2 million Saturday night and 16 people across the country walked away with a cool $1 million, including one person who bought a ticket in New York.
The largest Powerball jackpot ever won dates back to 2016 which was a grand total of $1.586 billion split between three ticket holders.
Monday’s jackpot is only the third time in US lotto history that winnings surpassed $1.5 billion.
The buzz grew throughout the Big Apple ahead of the high-stakes drawing.
Brooklyn dweller Victoria Davis said Sunday she had high hopes.
“How often does it get this high? Not often,” the 29-year-old pointed out, adding: “It’s a long long shot but I can hope can’t I?”
The chances of winning the jackpot are a long shot at 1 in 292 million.
The last grand prize winner to topple those odds this year came when a Pennsylvania Powerball ticket won the $206.9 million prize on Aug. 3.
