N.C. gets ready to play Powerball

Monday, May 29, 2006 posted 12:13 AM EDT

North Carolina's two-month-old lottery has created big buzz.

Now the game will have big prizes.

Powerball ticket sales start Tuesday, giving N.C. players their first chance to win multimillion-dollar prizes.

Joining Powerball puts North Carolina in more direct competition with South Carolina and other states that already participate in the higher-stakes game.

Robert Shesh, who manages Jacob's Food Mart in Gastonia, said some of his customers regularly make the 10-minute drive to South Carolina to play Powerball.

"We're going to get that business back with Powerball," he said. "Customers are anxious to play it."

Scratch-off tickets will still bring in the bulk of the lottery's money, said N.C. Education Lottery director Tom Shaheen. Through May 25, the lottery took in $162.3 million.

But Powerball's big prizes capture attention, he said. The record jackpot was $365 million.

"The players and the retailers have all responded to the lottery in favorable terms," Shaheen said, adding the lottery could launch more jackpot games this fall. "We're just trying to build the lottery one brick at a time."

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