Down to a dozen: Ace remains in the deck, draw expected to top $1M next week

The elusive ace remains in the deck for at least one more week, as the consolation prize of $110,995 was snatched up, but not the jackpot.

Cindy Casey was the lucky winner on Wednesday night in Goulds — well, one of them. The 50/50 draw went for a whopping $162,000.

The jackpot, however, which was expected to push $750,000, remains on the line for next week with 12 cards left in the deck.

Next week's jackpot is expected to top $1 million, organizers say.

Crowds hungry for the ace of spades began spilling into St. Kevin's Parish early Wednesday morning to buy tickets for the evening's big draw.

"It's more than we ever thought it would be," says Patsy Hynes, secretary at the church where the lottery is held each Wednesday.

"The crowds are crazy."

1,400 pounds of potatoes

For some, the frenzy began in the wee hours of the morning.

"One of my cooks came in 5 o'clock this morning," said Mallory Ward, general manager of Keith's Diner. The fish and chips restaurant sits just 300 meters from the action.

"We cut all of our own fries by hand here, and our lovely potato peeler has been here since 7am. He's working his butt off upstairs to do approximately 1,400 pounds of potatoes."

Volunteers run off their feet

The event's not just drawing big crowds, it's also drawing a large pool of volunteers.

"It takes 50 to 70 or more volunteers to run this today," said Hynes.

"There are people running all day long, running behind, picking up the tickets, taking care of the money. It's just crazy."

Community coming together

Both women tell CBC that Chase the Ace has turned into a special event for the community, bringing locals together and bringing people from all over the province to the Goulds.

"It's really interesting to hear people's stories, just how far they have travelled," she said. "People come in their campers and their RVs, they camp out in their church parking lot."

Keith's has even been making deliveries to those camping out at the church. 

"People see people they haven't seen forever, they're hugging," said Hynes. "I've even heard of people saying they get together and have tea, and then they come back and wait for the number to be drawn."

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With the ace remaining in the deck, Ward's potato peelers will be back at it next Wednesday morning.