Flames relaunch 50/50 draw
Foundation confident it eliminated all bugs in draw before start of Game 2
The Calgary Flames Foundation 50/50 raffle blazed back Thursday after technical woes extinguished the popular draw earlier in the week.
The foundation relaunched the draw ahead of Game 2 of Calgary’s first-round playoff series with the Dallas Stars.
Candice Goudie, executive director of the foundation, said she was confident the online raffle system would be capable of meeting demand that could potentially see fans buy millions of dollars worth of 50/50 tickets in a single day.
“We worked with our providers pretty diligently, obviously with our delay, to ensure that we can put forward the best experience for people,” Goudie said Thursday afternoon.
“So far, we’re over two hours in and everything seems to be going pretty well.”
It’s now been a week since the Flames Foundation last hosted a 50/50 draw.
Their draw during the Flames’ series-clinching win over the Winnipeg Jets on Aug. 7 attracted $1.79 million in ticket sales, with one fan winning the pot of nearly $900,000.
The Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation’s record-smashing 50/50 jackpot on Friday soared to more than $15 million, but a website malfunction that resulted in some ticket-buyers being charged multiple times has cast doubt on the actual amount of ticket sales.
The winning ticket for that draw has yet to be announced.
There is also expected to be a delay in ticket draws for the Flames Foundation’s upcoming jackpots, with announcements of winning numbers to come 36 hours after ticket sales end, a move meant to ensure that all ticket-buyers receive their numbers in their email inbox before the draw takes place.
The Flames and Oilers foundations both use the same company, Ascend Fundraising Solutions, to operate their online draws.
Goudie said the foundation plans to continue hosting 50/50 draws throughout Calgary’s playoff run.
“We know there’s a lot of charities in the city that could use the help right now, and we’re really happy that we’re back up and running today,” she said.
As of 9 p.m., ticket sales had grown to nearly $600,000.