Inuvik woman Matilda DeBastien pulled the ace of spades card in the Inuvik legion's Chase the Ace game, winning herself approximately $35,000 April 13.
Don Craik, president of the Royal Canadian Legion McInnes Branch 220 in Inuvik, said the legion was buzzing with excitement Friday night.
Samantha McKay/NNSL photo
"Leading up to the big win, it was very noisy, there was a big crowd," said Craik. "There was a lot of excitement because there were only six cards left, people were anticipating it would go."
To play Chase the Ace, each week participants have the chance to purchase a ticket. Each Friday, a winning ticket is selected and the ticket holder has a chance to pull a card. If the Ace of Spades is pulled, they win the jackpot. Ticket purchasing occurs weekly until the Ace of Spades is pulled.
By the time DeBastien pulled the Ace of Spaces on Friday, there were only six cards left. Craik said the Inuvik legion's Chase the Ace game had never had so few cards left before since they started hosting the game approximately six years ago.
"The pot had been up to $30,000 for the last two months," he said. "We capped it at that just out of respect for the town's lottery bylaws. Because it is an in-house 50/50, we don't have to put a cap on the jackpot, but I understand that may change in the near future."
He said once the $30,000 cap is reached, money raised is put into the next jackpot. The new Chase the Ace jackpot is already at $30,000, and the following jackpot has collected $7,600.
He added that the legion started hosting the lottery game in order to bring in more patrons.
"The reason we started this in the first place was to get people in on Friday night," Craik said. "It's just seemed to blossom from there."
DeBastien could not be reached for comment in time for publication.