Chase the Ace in Sydney sees no ace drawn for $1.9M jackpot

The enormously popular Chase the Ace will continue in Sydney, N.S., as Janet MacDonald of Glace Bay did not pull an ace of spades Saturday.

Instead of winning an expected jackpot of $1.9 million, MacDonald went home with around $327,000. 

That leaves the next jackpot at $2.2 million with six cards remaining. 

Chase the Ace Sydney will hold a draw in two weeks, and then every two weeks after that.

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Thousands drove to Cape Breton

Sidewalks around the ticket-selling venues for lottery were swarming Saturday afternoon with people lining up to buy a chance at winning $1.9 million.

Tens of thousands of people from across the Maritimes crossed the Canso Causeway, travelling to the Cape Breton city for the chance to flip over the ace of spades. 

People were in good spirits waiting for the draw, breaking out in a Rita McNeil sing-a-long at one point.

Win would be 'life changing'

CBC's George Mortimer was in Sydney for the draw. He met Lisa MacDougall of Sydney, who bought her tickets at the Horizon Achievement Centre, one of nine ticket-selling venues.

She said a win would be "life-changing," allowing her to be free of bills and to take care of family and friends.

She added she likes the idea of supporting local charities.

Strips of tickets — sold in groups of five — also are available at the Ashby Legion, the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion, the New Dawn Centre for Social Innovation, the Mayflower Mall, the Grand Lake Road fire hall, Sydney Academy, the Cedars Club and Centre 200, which was added this weekend. 

By 2 p.m., lineups had started to snake around the Ashby Legion.

George Martin was one of hundreds of people outside the building, travelling from his Marion Bridge home. He said he intends to share the jackpot with his children if he wins tonight.

Meanwhile, Michelle Swan and her daughter Sophie were dreaming of a Disney World trip after buying their tickets.

The event, including this afternoon's ticket sales was livestreamed online at chasetheacesydney.com.

The jackpot exceeded last October's draw in Inverness, which saw Englishtown's Donelda MacAskill take home $1.71 million.

Like a 50-50 draw

Chase the Ace is something like a 50-50 draw. But instead of winning half the value of the ticket sales, the winning ticket holder receives a smaller cut of the take and a chance to draw the ace of spades from a deck of regular playing cards to win the jackpot.

Every Saturday, 40 per cent of the money raised goes to the organization behind the draw, 30 per cent to the weekly winner and 30 per cent funnelled into the big prize.

Sydney's Chase the Ace supports the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 138 with a portion of these proceeds going toward the Horizon Achievement Centre and the Beyond the Horizon Building Campaign.