The Mega Millions jackpot continues to climb as players in North Carolina can play for a $331 million jackpot this weekend.

A winner in tonight’s drawing would have the choice of taking home the $331 million jackpot as an annuity or $153.1 million in cash.

“What a great start to Mother’s Day weekend it would be for a lucky North Carolinian to win that jackpot,” said Mark Michalko, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery. “Good luck to everyone going for that big prize tonight.”

Check out how North Carolinians win when they play Mega Millions:

• 16,889: That’s the total number of winning tickets in Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing
• $4.3 million: That’s the estimate of how much money has been raised for education during the current Mega Millions run

The odds of winning a Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302 million.

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

For details on how money raised by the lottery makes a difference for education programs in all 100 North Carolina counties, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.