GROWING JACKPOT
Chase the Ace game prize estimated at $123,000 with 26 cards remaining
North Sydney Chase the Ace game prize estimated at $123,000 with 26 cards remaining.
Another Chase the Ace game has reached a six-figure jackpot.
Organizers of the Northside 4 Chase the Ace estimate that if won on next draw, the jackpot will be in the vicinity of about $123,000. However, half the deck remains and with 26 cards to choose from the next draw winner has a less than four per cent chance of picking the jackpot-winning ace of spades.
However, early jackpots are not uncommon and very few games reach a six-figure jackpot, let alone a million dollar plus prize, which has occurred four times on Cape Breton Island in the past three years.
Ironically, one of those games was hosted by the very same Northside 4 group running the current venture. Adam and Amanda MacKay of New Waterford claimed a jackpot of almost $1.7 million in the game that ended January, 2017.
Northside 4 organizing committee spokesman Craig Ivey knows from past experience that the present game is off to a fantastic start.
“Yeah, we’re back – since the big one, we started two other games and neither of those made it all that far, but this time we’re down to 26 cards and the jackpot is already over $100,000,” said Ivey, who added that those attending the 4 p.m. draw are entered into a separate draw for some cool door prizes.
This time around, the game’s proceeds are going to five separate causes – the Northside Harbourview Hospital Foundation, Haley Street Adult Services Centre, the Emera Centre Northside, the Northern Yacht Club and the Seaview Golf Course.
While a Chase the Ace game could theoretically run for 52 consecutive weeks before the jackpot is won, Northside 4 organizers opted to hold biweekly draws over the summer. And, with next Sunday being part of the Labour Day holiday weekend, the next draw is scheduled for Sept. 9 and every Sunday thereafter until the ace of spades is selected by the draw winner.
The game’s first draw winners were simply identified as Rollie and Jack. The pair collected $1,295 on Jan. 28. The most recent draw winner is Peter Dickson, who picked up $6,840 after is ticket was selected last Sunday. He picked the five of clubs, thus ensuring the game would go on for at least another draw. Had he chosen the ace of spades, he would have won $115,000.
The first million dollar plus Chase the Ace jackpot was won in Inverness in October 2015, when Englishtown’s Donelda MacAskill claimed the prize of about $1.77 million. A Sydney game ended in May of the following year, when a local couple won $2.9 million. The Northside 4 game had the third million dollar plus jackpot, while the most recent seven-figure game ended earlier this summer when a woman and her nephew held the winning ticket worth more than $1.2 million. The latter win is now before the courts after the aunt sued her nephew on argument that he had no right to half of the winnings.
Tickets for the Sept. 9 are now available at more than a dozen outlets across the Northside and at one Sydney location. Check the game’s Facebook page for more details.