The Powerball jackpot keeps climbing up the all-time list as it was raised by $25 million on Friday and now stands at $750 million for Saturday’s drawing.
The total estimated jackpot increased by over $70 million after nobody won the big prize in Wednesday’s drawing. A winner on Saturday night could claim the jackpot as a $750 million annuity or $350.6 million in cash.
The $750 million jackpot ranks as the seventh largest Powerball jackpot of all time.
As of Friday, a $150,000 Powerball prize won in North Carolina on Wednesday remained unclaimed. In the drawing, a lucky $3 Power Play ticket matched four white balls and the red Powerball to win $50,000. The prize tripled to $150,000 when the 3X multiplier hit. The ticket was purchased at the Shop N Save on Harris Avenue in Raeford.
Powerball has had five consecutive drawings with at least one $50,000 winner in North Carolina.
“It has been great to see all the big Powerball wins recently in North Carolina,” said Mark Michalko, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery. “We do have our fingers crossed that we see the biggest win of all here this weekend. Good luck on Saturday.”
Powerball has gone 27 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner. The Powerball jackpot was last hit in the July 19 drawing when a ticket in California won the $1.08 billion prize.
Players can buy Powerball tickets at any lottery retail location or through Online Play on the lottery’s website or the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. 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.