Powerball: Technical problems delay sales and drawing of Powerball lottery game

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Mutliple technology problems yesterday caused problems with both the sales and drawing of the Powerball multi-state lottery game.

Getting a Powerball ticket in Nebraska was almost impossible for a short time Wednesday.

At about 5:30 p.m., a satellite malfunction shut down all Powerball ticket buying across the Cornhusker state. The problem lasted about 30 minutes.

Then, it took up to an hour or more for retailers to log back on.

The problems continued for Powerball players later in the night in Iowa. A technical problem forced the lottery drawing to be delayed for about 50 minutes.

One of the 29 jurisdictions participating in the drawing was not certified, and when that happens, the lottery can't tell if tickets are still being sold.

Eventually all the security and validation concerns were dealt with, and the numbers were drawn.

"The Powerball lotteries take pride in the strict security standards of this game, however sometimes our own rules require the game to be delayed to ensure all game procedures have been successfully completed," said lottery announcer Mike Pace.

When the numbers were finally drawn, no one matched all six winning numbers. The new estimated jackpot for Saturday is $215 million.

Wednesday’s winning numbers were 27, 29, 31, 42, 46.  The Powerball was 33 and the Power Play was 2.