MANITOULIN—Hey Manitoulin, the Ace of Spades is off and running and the Little Current Lions Club is offering you a chance to Catch the Ace for a potentially big win starting today, Wednesday, September 28.
Modelled on the viral fundraising campaign ‘Chase the Ace’ that proved to be an outstanding success in New Brunswick, the cumulative jackpot could reach as much as $30,000, but offers a pretty good chance at snagging a nice little pot along the way to the big catch.
As a quick recap on the rules, at the beginning of the lottery/raffle a fresh deck of cards is shuffled and placed in individual, unmarked envelopes. Those envelopes are then shuffled again and marked with numbers from one to 52. Each week, 500 tickets are printed (and hopefully, sold).
Players who buy a $5 ticket write their contact information on the stub and then a guess as to which envelope harbours the ace which they write at the bottom of the ticket. Each Wednesday, one ticket is drawn at the Little Current Royal Canadian Legion Branch 177 hall and that ticket receives 20 percent of that week’s accumulated ticket money. The envelope number on their ticket is then opened and if it contains the Ace of Spades, another 30 percent of the pot goes to the winner. If the draw goes to its full run of 40 weeks and all the tickets are sold that could mean a tidy $30,000 payout.
Once an envelope is opened, it is withdrawn from play, so you can only pick a number from the envelopes remaining in play (one of which still holds the elusive ace).
In order to be in the weekly draw you must purchase a ticket, as each ticket is only eligible for that week’s draw. You do not have to be present at the draw to win.
The draw will conclude at week 40, and if no one has managed to Catch the Ace, a random elimination draw will determine the overall winner of the top prize. “Lottery rules say that at the end the prize has to be given away,” said organizer Lion Secretary Lori Draper. “We can’t guarantee that we will sell all 500 every week, but if we do that prize could reach $30,000.”
“There will be no numbers on the tickets in the last draw,” said Lion President Bruce Burnett. “Instead, a ticket will be drawn and that ticket will get the lowest numbered envelope,” he said. “That ticket will get the 20 percent from that week. If that envelope doesn’t have the ace, we keep drawing tickets until it comes up.” Sadly, if your ticket is pulled and your envelope does not contain the ace, you don’t win anything, but if you do Catch the Ace, you will take home 30 percent of the accumulated pot. “We will be limiting the ticket sales on the last week of the lottery,” continued Mr. Burnett. “People will only be able to buy five tickets each, otherwise someone could probably walk in and buy them all up.”
Tickets are available all week at The Expositor Office, through Lion Lori Draper (705-348-0515), Lion Beth Draper (705-348-0983), Lion Mike Dubreuil (705-918-9507), Linda Bowerman (705-368-2465) and at the Legion hall each Wednesday from noon to 7:30 pm.
