Michael Baldwin of Swannanoa tried his luck on a $3 Power Play ticket and became one of three $100,000 winners in Saturday’s Powerball drawing.

“This couldn’t have happened at a better time,” he said as he claimed his prize Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh.

Baldwin purchased his winning Quick Pick ticket from the I Market on N.C. 9 in Black Mountain.

His winning Power Play ticket matched numbers on four of the white balls and the Powerball to beat odds of 1 in 913,000, winning him $50,000. His prize doubled to $100,000 when the 2X multiplier was drawn.

After required federal and state tax withholdings, Baldwin took home $70,751.

No one won the jackpot in Wednesday’s drawing. The jackpot stands at $341 million as an annuity prize or $262.5 million cash for Saturday’s drawing.

The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.

Players can try their luck and buy Powerball tickets at any lottery retail location, through Online Play on the lottery’s website, www.nclottery.com, or by using the NC Lottery Official Mobile App.

Ticket sales from scratch-offs make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million per year for education. For details on how lottery funds have helped all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.