Petit-Rocher may be a small community in New Brunswick, but it sure does offer some enormous lottery prizes. It was recently reported that the popular game Chase the Ace is heading into its 48th week with a jackpot worth CA$7.3 million. This is the largest jackpot of its kind in the area, however, the winner of the multi-million prize can only be one ticket holder.
Draws for the game are held every week, while tickets are placed and mixed in an enormous make-shift indoor pool. The community is located on the west shore of Chaleur Bay, and for the annual initiative, Club VTT/ATV Chaleur has teamed up with the Friends of Healthcare Foundation. The game attracts players from various locations, and tickets are sold in person only.
Jackpot Rises to New Heights
Club VTT/ATV Chaleur reported that last week people purchased more than half a million tickets for the game. Players buy weekly tickets to stay in the pool, if their ticket is drawn, then they try out their luck by picking the ace of hearts out of a deck of cards. The runs for a year, until the ace of hearts is finally drawn by one lucky participant.
It was revealed that half of the money from ticket sales will be put into upgrading and maintaining ATV trails between Campbellton and Miramichi, in the province while also funding local health care. President of Friend of Healthcare Foundation, René Beaudet shared that the gas station on Ramsey Street in Campbellton is seeing swarms of people from Quebec.
Meanwhile, the first drawn name in the new year came with some confusion. The winning ticket was bought by Doug Henderson. However, Dave Henderson was called out instead of Doug, who happens to be his cousin. After hearing this, Dave contacted organizers and picked up an envelope over the phone, while the real winner, Doug, was trying to get through.
Dave did not pick an envelope with the ace of heart. Meanwhile, Doug said it was a real mixture of emotions as he might have chosen a different number than his cousin. However, organizers realized the mistake after the card was selected. Still, he received a consolation prize of CA$345,403. Last week’s winner, also failed to land the correct card and claimed CA$355k.
Chase the Ace Has Its History
It is not the first time that the game has caught the attention of Canadians. Years ago, more than 50 trucks lined up to get on the ferry into Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories, to buy tickets for the game. The prize stood at CA$80,000 but attracted people living all over the Beaufort Delta region to Fort McPherson, which is located in the Inuvik region and houses around 800 people.
Meanwhile, Chase the Ace has also been the cause of negative emotions for some. Back in 2018, Barbara Reddick took her nephew, Tyrone MacInnis, to court over a jackpot worth CA$1.2 million. It was decided that Mrs. Reddick would take her half of the jackpot, as well as half of her nephew’s portion of the cash prize. This means that this week she bagged ¾ of the CA$1.2-million jackpot.
Source: Isaac, Nation “A $7M jackpot is up for grabs in this small New Brunswick town” CBC News, January 14, 2024
