Big jackpots ride on a few cards as Chase the Ace grips three Atlantic towns

BAY DE VERDE, N.L. — Parish secretary Diane Sparkes just wants someone to catch the God-forsaken ace.

“Never again,” Sparkes said Monday of her parish’s Chase the Ace fundraiser. “I never thought this would happen.”

Sparkes has been handling the cards since the fundraiser started early last October at the Assumption Roman Catholic parish in Bay de Verde, N.L., a fishing community on the northern tip of the Avalon Peninsula.

It is one of three small Atlantic towns now in the grips of hugely successful games that have come down to a few cards and big winnings.

All three expect crowds to descend over the next week as jackpots in two Newfoundland draws are expected to top $500,000. Another on Thursday in Dalhousie, N.B. to raise cash for recreation programs and the Rotary Club has just six cards left and an estimated jackpot of $1.2 million.

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Chase the Ace fundraisers have soared in popularity on the East Coast since 2013. An elusive ace of spades means a growing pool of winnings — and a weekly influx of thousands that can be difficult to usher in and out of rural towns.

Sparkes said Chase the Ace will help restore church buildings in Bay de Verde, population 400. There are just three cards left for the next draw Wednesday which will likely attract even more than the 4,000 people who converged from around the region last week for winnings then estimated at $317,000.

“We have people that actually come the night before in motor homes and are parked in Bay de Verde,” said Sparkes. “In the morning, they’re there before 8 o’clock” for a draw that doesn’t take place until around 7:30 p.m.

Sparkes said the support is gratefully welcomed, but there are some serious traffic concerns due to the sheer volume of vehicles. Visitors are being urged to park about two kilometres on the outskirts of town and take buses provided for the draw.

There are also intense demands on organizers as Chase the Ace continues week after week.

“I staple the tickets together,” Sparkes said. “I’ve been doing that since Oct. 7 of last year. And I’m still doing it.”

The town of McIvers on Newfoundland’s west coast also has just three cards left in its Chase the Ace game. It began last October to raise $30,000 for Come Home Year events in 2017.

McIvers Mayor Warren Blanchard figures the windfall to the town of 600 people now stands at about $700,000 after expenses — and that’s on top of a potential jackpot on Sunday that will likely exceed $500,000.

More than 4,400 people came hours early for the last draw Sunday night to buy tickets for a chance to turn over the winning ace.

Extra security and a Brink’s truck were on hand to safeguard the cash until it could be put in the bank, Blanchard said.

“We never in our wildest dreams expected it to be at the point it is now.”

Dozens of volunteers will help manage traffic flows in and out of McIvers, Blanchard said.

“It takes a couple of hours before it all gets cleared out. Some people are a bit impatient and this kind of thing. As much as we try to tell them to be patient and careful and try to avoid having accidents, there’s still that number that don’t adhere to that.”

There have been no injuries or major incidents, Blanchard said as he hopes for the best this Sunday too.

“Once we’re done, we’ll need a break and to finish planning for our Come Home Year.”

As for the extra cash, Blanchard said the town will meet with local program organizers “to see what their needs are.”

—By Sue Bailey in St. John’s, N.L.

The Canadian Press