Saturday’s Powerball jackpot soars to $1 billion

The Powerball jackpot just reached a major milestone as players can have fun this weekend trying their luck on a $1 billion prize.

A winner on Saturday could claim the jackpot as a $1 billion annuity or $461.3 million in cash.

Wednesday’s Powerball drawing saw one lucky North Carolinian match four white balls and the red Powerball to win $50,000. The $3 Power Play ticket tripled to $150,000 when the 3X multiplier came up. The win came from Online Play in Wingate.

Wednesday’s $150,000 win made it five straight Powerball drawings with North Carolinians winning prizes of at least $50,000 and three straight with at least a $100,000 winner. Check out where the wins occurred:

• The $50,000 wins came from Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Huntersville, Maxton and Fayetteville
• The $100,000 wins came from Burgaw and Burlington
• The $150,000 win came from Wingate

Saturday’s jackpot is the second-largest Powerball prize offered 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.