Chase the Ace jackpot grows in Manitoba community

A map showing the location of La Broquerie, Manitoba. (CTV News Winnipeg)

Someone in Manitoba will be more than $200,000 richer if the ace is drawn next week.

La Broquerie Helping Hands, an organization that runs a food bank in the Manitoba community located approximately 60 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg, has been running a chase the ace fundraiser since last year, with the jackpot as of Friday now hitting $249,070.

Jocelyn Gauthier, one of the board members for the organization, said the fundraiser started as a way for the organization to help purchase items like milk and bread for the food bank.

“We just never expected it to grow as big as it has now,” she said on Thursday.

A chase the ace fundraiser, popular in Atlantic Canada, sees participants purchase lottery tickets. The winning ticket gets an opportunity to pull a card from a traditional playing deck. If they pull the ace of spades, they win the jackpot. Cards are removed from play until the ace is picked, and the jackpot continues to grow.

Gauthier said ticket sales began to spike this past February, and tickets regularly sell out.

“This is a huge impact for us, and this allows us to have the funds available for probably a good year to purchase the milk, the bread, the non-perishable items and to stock up the hampers we need,” she said.

Currently, La Broquerie Helping Hands helps 95 families in the community with food hampers, up from 35 when they first started.

The next draw will take place May 28 at 8 p.m. at the La Broquerie hotel. Eight cards remain, including the ace of spades. It’s the final draw before the summer break.