Chase the Ace doubles Dalhousie population, saves local pool

The population of the town of Dalhousie will more than double Thursday night as more than 7,000 people are expected to turn out for the weekly Chase the Ace fundraiser.

"The roads are going to be packed," Rotary Club president Nicholas Kiss told Information Morning Moncton on Thursday.

This is Week 46 for the wildly successful fundraiser for the local Recreaplex and Rotary Club.

Gilles Morais, who is on the board of directors for the Recreaplex community centre and pool, said it has grown from $530 in tickets sold the first week to $453,000 in tickets sold last week.

It gives us a chance to save the Recreaplex which is a cornerstone of the town.- Nicholas Kiss

He said a Brinks truck even had to be brought in to transport all the cash.

Kiss added people don't have to be in the building where the ticket is drawn to win but they should be nearby.

"They're parked on the streets and on the side of the highways and invading all the commercial establishments and parking wherever they can," Kiss said.

"They have 15 minutes to get to the sales counter to identify themselves. We hope that they strategically locate themselves if they're not within the room where the ticket is drawn, that they're at least close enough that they can identify themselves before their time runs out."

The local fire department and RCMP are taking charge of traffic control within the town and on the surrounding highways.

Chase the Ace saves rec centre

Kiss says it's been a stroke of luck for the Recreaplex, the Rotary Club and local businesses that the ace of spades still hasn't been drawn from the deck, with only seven cards now remaining.

"All commercial establishments every Thursday night have a boon in business … our gas stations are selling gas, our ATMs are empty so we're doing well," he said.

The plan is for the money to be shared between Rotary Club projects and upgrades to the Recreaplex. 

"It gives us a chance to save the Recreaplex, which is a cornerstone of the town," Kiss said.

"A fitness centre and a pool that was facing financial difficulty, but now with the money raised they're secure and we can get into some energy efficiency upgrades that'll save hopefully 30 to 40 per cent in energy costs and we can look forward to the future and being able to enjoy the pool."

Someone's number will be drawn tonight. If they choose the ace of spades from the remaining seven cards they will receive the big prize. If they don't draw the ace of spades they will receive 20 per cent of the prize, which is estimated to be more than $100,000.

Last week the runner up winner won $90,000.