Chase the Ace is back on in St. John’s after sudden intervention by provincial authorities last week, and the jackpot has officially inched past the $1-million mark.

The July 19 draw was put on hold at the last minute after a printing error caused a small number of tickets to have duplicate numbers.

Service NL, which regulates lotteries in the province, was called in to review the case and determined that there was “no intentional wrongdoing or fraudulent activity” on behalf of organizers.

After receiving the all-clear, the parish that has run the wildly popular draw every Wednesday since last October moved ahead with the lottery.

The grand prize reached $1,135,323, but Wednesday’s winning ticket holder, Courtney Noseworthy, failed to draw the elusive ace of spades from the deck of 12 remaining cards. Instead, she took home a consolation prize of $172,368.

A prize of $226,612 was awarded to Ralph Seaward, who won the 50/50 draw.

Huge crowds gathered outside St. Kevin’s Parish in St. John’s Goulds neighbourhood in anticipation of the million-dollar draw. Three satellite locations were set up across the city to help spread the turnout.

How the game works

The rules of Chase the Ace are simple. Participants buy tickets to be entered into a weekly draw. A single ticket is drawn each week, and the winner instantly gets 20 per cent of the pool. Fifty per cent of the funds go back to the parish, while the remaining 30 per cent is squirreled away into a growing jackpot.

On top of the initial winnings, the ticket holder gets the chance to pull one card from a standard 52-deck. If the ace of spades is drawn, they win the total jackpot.

If the card isn’t drawn, the shrinking deck is set aside for the next week -- thereby narrowing the odds.

Eleven cards remain. The next draw will be held on August 9.