RALEIGH – Humberto Mendoza of Arapahoe was one number away from hitting the jackpot Saturday night. But that didn’t stop him from celebrating. After all, he won $50,000.

“I was jumping around like crazy,” Mendoza recalled.

He picked his own numbers on the winning ticket he purchased at the Pinedale Food Mart on N.C. 55 East in New Bern.

Mendoza, a marine construction worker, said his after-tax winnings of $34,625 would pay for a family trip to Mexico.

Powerball players have the chance tonight to win a world record jackpot: A $1.5 billion annuity worth $930 million cash. Ticket sales end at 9:59 p.m. for the 10:59 p.m. drawing.

At 1 in 292 million, the odds of winning the jackpot are long. But there are nine ways to win a prize playing Powerball, including $1 million, or even $2 million if the $1 Power Play feature is added. So players should check their tickets carefully.

Ticket sales from games like Powerball helped the lottery raise more than half a billion dollars for the state last year. A sale of a $2 Powerball ticket raises about 76 cents for education.