The Powerball jackpot continues its upward climb as it now stands at $550 million for Wednesday’s drawing.

A winner tonight could claim the jackpot as a $550 million annuity or $266 million in cash.

In Monday’s drawing, a $3 Power Play ticket purchased at the Quality Mart on South Sterling Street in Morganton matched four white balls and the red ball to win $50,000. The prize doubled to $100,000 when the 2X multiplier hit.

“We love to see all the big wins recently for Powerball players in North Carolina,” said Mark Michalko, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery. “We hope to see more wins tonight with a jackpot of over half a billion dollars up for grabs.”

Check out these numbers on how Powerball affects North Carolinians:
• 23,487: The total number of winning tickets in Monday’s drawing
• $10.8 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 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.