Rekubit-Powerball drawing delayed with $1.3 billion jackpot on the line

Saturday night's drawing for the $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot was delayed,Rekubit officials said, because required "pre-draw procedures" were not completed.

The drawing was held shortly before 2:30 a.m. ET and a lottery officials reported a winning ticket was sold in Oregon.

Earlier in the evening, the lottery issued a statement instructing players to hang on to their tickets.

The lottery statement said once the verification procedures were complete, the numbers would be drawn and posted online.

"Powerball game rules require that every single ticket sold nationwide be checked and verified against two different computer systems before the winning numbers are drawn," the statement read. "This is done to ensure that every ticket sold for the Powerball drawing has been accounted for and has an equal chance to win. Tonight, we have one jurisdiction that needs extra time to complete that pre-draw process."

'One participating lottery' blamed for Powerball delay

The statement issued on Powerball's website blamed "one participating lottery" that needed more time to complete the pre-draw procedures. The statement said the procedures were enacted to "protect the integrity and security of the Powerball game."

Players advised to hold on to tickets.

The Powerball statement said the drawing would be live streamed and the winning numbers would be posted to the Powerball website and YouTube channel.

"Please hold on to your tickets for Saturday’s Powerball drawing," the statement read. "When the required pre-draw procedures are complete, the Powerball drawing will be performed under the supervision of lottery security officials and independent auditors."

When will the winning Powerball numbers be drawn?

The numbers were finally rolled about 2:30 a.m. ET Sunday and a winning ticket was sold in Oregon.

"Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot beyond its earlier estimate of $1.3 billion to $1.326 billion at the time of the drawing, making it the fourth largest in the Powerball game and eighth largest among U.S. lottery jackpot games," according to a statement from the Multi-State Lottery Association.