Chase the Ace lottery prize passes $250K in Tignish

A local fundraiser for the fire department and Royal Canadian Legion in Tignish has turned into a huge draw for the tiny western P.E.I. town.

Only about 780 live there, but thousands are travelling to the town, about an hour's drive beyond Summerside, to buy a $5 ticket in the Chase the Ace fundraiser. The prize for this Friday's draw is more than $250,000.

They're getting gas, they're getting coffee, and they're getting whatever.- Harvey Myers

Harvey Myers, manager of the Credit Union Arena in Tignish, where the tickets are sold, said what started as a fundraiser for a couple of local organizations is now benefiting the whole town.

"To me, it's just like a big hockey tournament. Everybody benefits here in this little town, because people come in," said Myers.

"They're getting gas, they're getting coffee, and they're getting whatever, and they`re going to spend it. And then they come over to the rink, and so everybody benefits when there is a lot of people in a small place."

The draw happens every Friday night. That week's draw winner pulls a card from a deck and if it's the ace of spades wins the jackpot. Each week the drawn card is discarded, and the chances of drawing the ace get better. There are 17 cards left.

With ticket sales brisk, organizers expect the next jackpot could reach almost $300,000.

Tignish is not the only Maritime community seeing big benefits from a Chase the Ace lottery scheme. Inverness, N.S. has also been busy with lottery ticket buyers. In that community the jackpot value has passed $1.2 million.