Still chasing the ace on P.E.I.’s north shore
NORTH RUSTICO, P.E.I. — The North Shore Chase the Ace continues to be rising – in recognition and prize cash.
This spherical of Chase the Ace began in February 2021 and is a fundraiser for six organizations – the Lion’s Golf equipment in Cymbria, Hunter River, North Rustico and Winsloe, in addition to the North Rustico Hearth Division and the North Star Area. The pot is the most important ever at $1.3 million, and there are nonetheless 13 playing cards in play.
“The hope, as a fundraising group, is to go so long as we are able to,” stated North Rustico Hearth Chief Dan Gallant. “To recover from $1 million is superior. We’re mainly on an enormous wave, and we’d prefer to trip it so long as we are able to.”
Tickets price $5 every. One ticket is drawn every week with the winner assured to take house 20 per cent of the week’s gross sales. Nonetheless, that particular person additionally will get an opportunity to chase the ace, and if the ace of spades is flipped may win the entire pot.
Gamers don’t must be on the draw to win.
The fundraiser has an choice to buy tickets online with round half the tickets bought electronically.
That helps unfold the winnings throughout the Island, stated Gallant.
“It’s been good that approach, we’ve been form of spreading (the winnings) round, which is superior. We’ve been up west, we’ve been down east, we’ve been central,” he stated.
Volunteers
Each Gallant and organizer Mike Doiron stated the important thing to the sport’s success is the greater than 100 volunteers who assist out every week.
Gallant stated Doiron places in additional than 50 hours of labor every week to deliver the draw collectively.
“He does work very tirelessly,” stated Gallant about Doiron. “Him and his spouse each, Jacinta – she’s on the draw each Saturday night time doing the auditing.”
Doiron calls them “the perfect bunch of volunteers on the planet.”
“We’re nonetheless trying ahead to it each Saturday,” stated Doiron. “We are saying it’s not a Saturday night time with out the hoedown and North Shore Chase the Ace.”
“We’re mainly on an enormous wave, and we’d prefer to trip it so long as we are able to.”
– Dan Gallant
Rising curiosity
Doiron joined the fundraiser on behalf of the North Star Area, however lately he’s chief organizer, he stated.
“All of us realized we couldn’t elevate very a lot cash every on our personal, so we determined to work collectively and it’s understanding,” stated Doiron.
Ticket gross sales are rising every week. The April 16 draw bought 5,000 extra tickets than the earlier week, stated Doiron.
That is the 14th sport in seven years, and it has raised extra money than all of the earlier 13 video games mixed, stated Doiron.
“It’s all of the luck of the draw, on the subject of discovering the ace as a result of we’ve discovered it on the very first night time earlier than. Typically it goes early, generally it goes late,” stated Doiron.
The draw location rotates between the 4 Lions Golf equipment with the April 23 attract Cymbria. That week’s successful ticket is scheduled to be drawn from the barrel, nicknamed the Dream Machine, between 6:45 and seven p.m.
Alison Jenkins is a reporter with SaltWire Community in Prince Edward Island.