Staff Report. February 10, 2012. RALEIGH – Powerball players in North Carolina will get a chance to win the biggest Powerball jackpot ever when the drawing is held Saturday night for the $325 million jackpot.

The Powerball jackpot sits at the highest amount ever since the N.C. Education Lottery joined the multi-state game on May 30, 2006. The biggest Powerball jackpot that North Carolinians had a chance to win previously was $314.3 million on Aug. 25, 2007.

Strong sales since Wednesday’s drawing propelled the amount past the initial estimate of $310 million by $15 million. If someone wins Saturday’s jackpot, they would have the choice of taking the $325 million jackpot either as an annuity paid out over 30 years or as a lump sum payment of $202.9 million.

“If you like playing for big jackpots, this is an exciting time,” said Alice Garland, executive director of N.C. Education Lottery. “We’re hoping that someone from North Carolina wins that jackpot. As our sales go up, so will the money we make for education this year.”

The newly revamped $2 version of Powerball, which started Jan. 15, was designed to create bigger jackpots and more winners of the second prize of $1 million in cash. So far nationally, 21 tickets have matched the five white balls to claim the game’s second prize of $1 million, including two sold in North Carolina. The $1 million tickets in North Carolina were sold in Jacksonville for the Saturday, Feb. 4, drawing, and in Durham for the Wednesday, Feb. 8 drawings. The winners have 180 days from the draw date to claim their prizes.

From Dec. 28, when the current roll of the jackpot started, through the last drawing on Feb. 8, the Education Lottery has recorded $21.6 million in Powerball sales, of which an estimated $8.6 million will go to education.

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