JOKER JACKPOT HITS COOL SIX DIGITS
Eskasoni abuzz over Catch the Joker fundraiser that is helping community groups
Move over, ace — here come the jokers.
And, two of the wild cards are on the loose in Eskasoni, where catching one of the jesters on Friday could be worth more than $100,000.
The game is called Catch the Joker and, according to Chief Leroy Denny, is a spinoff of Chase the Ace, an immensely popular fundraising initiative that has featured $3,000,000plus jackpots over the past couple of years.
The idea came about when a team of Eskasoni hockey players was planning its annual trip to the United States where they take in an NHL game or two while competing in a tournament.
However, not all of the players could afford the getaway, so the team decided a fundraising event of some kind was in order.
“Some of the guys couldn’t afford the trip, so someone suggested we have a Chase the Ace game, but I said no, there’s too much Chase the Ace, everywhere you go in Cape Breton there is Chase the Ace, so we came up with an idea for a new game to raise money and we called it Catch the Joker,” explained Denny, who said a team member is dressed as The Joker at every draw.
The game is similar to Chase the Ace in that tickets are sold for a weekly draw with the winner having an opportunity to select a card from the deck in hopes of winning a jackpot. It differs in that the jackpot is not won by drawing an ace, but rather by selecting one of two jokers that were inserted into the deck when the game commenced. If the draw winner does not select a joker, they have the option of surrendering half of their draw winnings for a second chance at picking a joker.
The hockey team’s latest game is nearing its climax with an estimated jackpot of $115,000 and just eight cards, including the two jokers, remaining
in the deck.
“It’s created quite a buzz out here — people are talking,” said Denny, who is one of the players behind the initiative.
“We didn’t expect this jackpot to get that high, but it’s another opportunity for the hockey players to give back to the community, it’s the gift of charity.”
And it isn’t just the amount of the jackpot that has people talking on the Eskasoni First Nation. A good part of the buzz
is that the team, which has already raised enough for its next trip, is distributing the game’s profits throughout the community.
Team member Chuck Gould explained the squad’s philosophy in a recent Facebook post.
“As a team we feel we did the right thing helping some groups and we’re proud and feel great about it. We as a team want to express great appreciation to our fans, our community and especially Catch The Joker supporters.
Welaliek — we are still discussing other ideas and ways we can help our Eskasoni,” he stated.
So far, the team’s charitable acts have included sending a wheelchair-bound 12-yearold girl to Disney World, the donation of two new propane heaters to a church, the contribution of $10,000 to the annual Eskasoni Powwow, and help for several other organizations including the Eskasoni Women’s Auxiliary pilgrimage group. Gift cards of differing denominations have also been handed out to dialysis and cancer patients at the Cape Breton Regional hospital.
The team heads to Nashville in March, but it’s not the first trip for many of the players. In the past few years, the squad has also visited and taken part in tournaments in Pittsburgh, Boston (where they won), New York and Tampa Bay.
The next draw is set for 10 p.m. on Friday and will be streamed live on the Our Eskasoni Catch The Joker Facebook page.
Tickets are $5 each and are available at most stores in Eskasoni as well as at First Nation reserves across Nova Scotia. Tickets are even being sold as far away as on the Elsipogtop First Nation in New Brunswick. E-transfers can usually be made, but are no longer available this week.