The Powerball game comes stuffed this Thanksgiving weekend with a $719 million jackpot.

A winner in the Saturday drawing could claim the jackpot as a $719 million annuity or $333.3 million in cash.

“Powerball has delivered five jackpot wins so far this year,” said Mark Michalko, chief executive officer of the N.C. Education Lottery. “We’re hoping the sixth jackpot win occurs in North Carolina this Thanksgiving weekend.”

Powerball players in North Carolina continued a streak of big wins in Wednesday’s drawing. For the third drawing in a row, a win of $50,000 or more occurred. Wednesday’s win occurred in the Powerball Double Play drawing.

Someone with a ticket purchased in Charlotte through Online Play matched four white balls and the red Powerball to win a $50,000 prize. By adding $1 to a $2 ticket, a Powerball player can get their same numbers entered in a second drawing through Double Play.

How does the Powerball game benefit North Carolinians?
• 25,881 prizes: The total number of winning tickets in Wednesday’s drawing.
• $13.5 million: The estimated amount raised for education on the current Powerball run.

Saturday’s drawing offers the second-largest Powerball jackpot this year, trailing only the $1.7 billion jackpot won Sept. 6 in Missouri and Texas.

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.

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.