Residents of Inverness, N.S., will have to wait one more week to find out who will the Chase the Ace contest and its ultimate prize – more than $1 million.

Thousands of hopefuls flocked to the small rural community for yet another draw in the wildly popular fundraiser game on Saturday.

The Cape Breton town of about 1,400 ballooned tenfold as participants hoped to take home the more than $1.2-million jackpot.

The contest sees a card drawn each week and concludes upon the selection of the ace of spades.

After 46 weeks without a winner, the deck had been narrowed down to six cards.

The ticket belonging to Carol Hartling, of Westville, N.S., was selected on Saturday as the potential big-money winner, but she drew the nine of hearts from the remaining cards.

Despite missing the million-dollar card, Hartling took home a consolation prize of $235,000.

Under new rule changes, the remaining cards will be drawn next Saturday, Oct. 3, until the winning ticket has been found.

Under previous rules, the “Chase the Ace” contest could have lasted up to five more weeks.

But this year's contest has gone on for so long -- and the jackpot has grown so large -- that organizers announced the Oct. 3 cut-off in order to avoid crowds growing out of control and overwhelming the town.

Earlier this weekend, the RCMP issued a traffic advisory for the community as they braced for incoming crowds.

"Inverness District RCMP is reminding motorists to exercise patience and caution when it comes to traffic and parking," a statement released Friday said.

The statement also stressed to motorists to "respect no parking areas."

Parking was made available to participants as far as 10 kilometres outside the town, at the Broad Cove concert grounds.

More spots were offered at the Inverness Raceway.

The RCMP also said that drivers should expect traffic slowdowns around the town, pay attention to RCMP traffic directions, give themselves plenty of time to get to and from the event, and, if possible, to carpool.

At the end of the release, the RCMP warned citizens that drinking alcohol in public can result in a fine, and that "incidents of impaired driving will be strictly enforced."

All proceeds from the contest go toward the Inverness Royal Canadian Legion Branch and the Inverness Cottage Workshop, a non-profit that supports adults with disabilities.