Winning $1.3B Powerball ticket from Portland drawn after delay

Winning $1.3B Powerball ticket from Portland drawn after delay

The most anticipated Powerball drawing on April 6 was worth an estimated $1.326 billion, the fourth largest jackpot in its history, caught players by surprise when the lottery encountered an issue.

Powerball drawing delayed due to pre-draw procedures

Leaving Powerball players hanging with their tickets close by, game officials announced the delay around 11:15 p.m. ET and said the wait was due to pre-draw procedures that weren’t complete. It wasn’t until 2:30 a.m., more than three hours after the drawing was scheduled, that the winning numbers were pulled at the Florida Lottery studio. The drawing was live-streamed on the Powerball’s YouTube channel.

Oregon ticket wins $1.3 billion jackpot

On Sunday, the Oregon Lottery announced that a winning ticket for the fourth-largest jackpot was sold in the state. The winner has one year to claim the massive jackpot and can walk away with $621 million if they choose the cash option, according to the lottery.

What happened during the Powerball drawing on April 6?

The Powerball wants its players to know that there wasn’t an issue with the actual drawing, rather, additional time was needed to complete the lottery’s pre-draw procedures.

Lottery procedures to ensure fair drawing

Before every Powerball drawing, the lottery requires that each state submit the numbers of the purchased tickets before the drawing. By doing this, the lottery can ensure that each player has an equal chance of winning in that drawing.

Powerball delays have occurred before

As Powerball players anticipated seeing the numbers rolled and selected at 10:59 ET, the lottery had a delay because of the pre-draw procedures. Although the wait might be annoying to some, the lottery said this isn’t the first time it has experienced this type of delay.

Trust in the Powerball lottery

While the Multi-State Lottery Association did not provide a definite answer, the lottery organization maintains that enacting the pre-draw procedure before every drawing will keep the integrity of the drawing intact.