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Hay River readies for next Chase the Ace lottery

Paul Hergott

After being absent since October, Chase the Ace could return soon.

"We're looking to advertise a call for applications for the next round of Chase the Ace, and we expect that to go out before the end of month," said Glenn Smith, assistant senior administrative officer with the Town of Hay River.

The Town of Hay River will soon be calling for applications from organizations to hold another Chase the Ace lottery, which will potentially find a big winner like Danielle Antoine. She won $98,906.50 on Dec. 7, 2018, in a Chase the Ace presented by the 2018 South Slave Arctic Winter Games Host Society.
Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Since the call has not yet been issued, no deadline to receive the applications has been set, so Smith couldn't say when another Chase the Ace might begin.

"I would think that we'll have one, let's say, this winter," he said.

Smith noted there appears to be interest from some organizations in presenting the popular lottery.

"My understanding is that a few people have expressed interest and picked up copies of the bylaw," he said.

Smith believes there is still interest among members of the public to play Chase the Ace.

"You never know how these are going to go," he said. "I think there's still interest, probably in the winter especially when people don't have as many things going on compared to the summer schedule."

So far, there have been four Chase the Ace lotteries held in Hay River – the first and most successful by the Hay River Curling Club in 2016, followed by two from the Host Society of the 2018 South Slave Arctic Winter Games, and the most recent by Branch 250 of the Royal Canadian Legion.

"Obviously, the first one was an overwhelming success for the Curling Club and had a lot of attention and interest from the public," said Smith.

The town official noted that many people benefit from each Chase the Ace – the organizations hosting the event, the locations where it is held and the municipality from licensing fees.

The Town of Hay River also received an additional boost from the profits of the most recent Chase the Ace in the community.

At the Oct. 29 meeting of town council, Branch 250 of the Royal Canadian Legion presented a donation of $27,000 towards the construction of a Fisherman's Wharf pavilion.

The $27,000 donation was slightly over half of the proceeds from the Legion's Chase the Ace lottery, which concluded on Oct. 11.