The Powerball jackpot continues to surge as it now stands at $473 million for Saturday’s drawing.

The prize grew more than $30 million dollars after nobody won Wednesday’s jackpot. A winner on Saturday could claim the jackpot as a $473 million annuity or $255.7 million in cash.

“While we are all rooting for a jackpot winner in North Carolina Saturday night, we still see lots of other great prizes being won every drawing by North Carolinians,” said Mark Michalko, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery. “Players should remember there are nine different ways to win so check your tickets carefully after the drawing.”

Check out these numbers on how Powerball affects North Carolinians:
• $50,000: Two lucky winners won $50,000 in Wednesday’s drawing. One winning ticket came from Hammond's BP on Old N.C. 49 in Asheboro in Randolph County and the other came from Murphy Express on North Howe Street in Southport in Brunswick County
• 23,630: The total number of winning tickets in Wednesday’s drawing
• $11.2 million: The estimated amount raised for education on the current Powerball run

Players can buy Powerball tickets at any lottery retail location or through Online Play on the lottery’s website, www.nclottery.com. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.

Ticket sales from draw games make it possible for the lottery to raise $2.5 million a day on average 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.