North Carolinians have the chance on Saturday night to play for a Powerball jackpot that now exceeds half a billion dollars.

The Powerball jackpot weighs in at $523 million as an annuity, or $379 million cash. The jackpot stands as the largest in eight months and ranks as the 10th largest in Powerball history.

“Winning a half-billion dollar jackpot would be life-changing” said Mark Michalko, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery. “We would love to see someone in North Carolina win. If you try your luck, remember it only takes one ticket to win.”

Powerball offers nine ways to win, with prizes ranging from $4 to the jackpot. In Wednesday’s drawing, there were 35,295 winning tickets in North Carolina. The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.

Powerball drawings are now held three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.

Players can buy Powerball or Mega Millions tickets through Online Play on the lottery’s website, www.nclottery.com, with the NC Lottery Official Mobile App, or at any lottery retail location.

Ticket sales from draw games such as Powerball and Mega Millions help make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $900 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.