The Ace has been chased!
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- Published on Friday, February 16, 2018
Submitted photo. Neepawa Royal Canadian Legion Branch #23 Chase the Ace winner Danny Schmidtke and partner Doreen Burton.
By Eoin Devereux
Neepawa Banner & Press
There was a great sense of anticipation in the air inside the Neepawa Royal Canadian Legion building on Friday, Feb. 9, as a near capacity crowd eagerly awaited the results of the weekly Chase the Ace (CTA) draw. And after 47 weeks of build up, that elusive ace of spades was finally tracked down, as Danny Schmidtke of Erickson found the correct card. With just seven cards to choose from, Schmidtke had just a 14.2 per cent chance at finding the ace. Though those odds were long, they were still more than enough for him to uncover the ace and win the big prize of $37,097.
Royal Canadian Legion Branch #23 president Brent Hunter congratulated Schmidtke on tracking down the ace and added that the build up over the past few weeks has been a lot of fun to watch.
鈥淭he last little while, [the draw] has really picked up some momentum,鈥� noted Hunter. 鈥淲e had arranged to have about 400 wrist bands made up and distributed over the last few weeks, in order to keep track of our maximum capacity. We鈥檝e nearly sold out of those recently, so a lot of people were getting involved. As for what happened on Friday night, there was a big roar, once the card was drawn. It was certainly exciting to watch.鈥�
With all the required licensing and fees paid, Hunter stated that the Legion will still walk away with a solid amount of money that could aid them with some much desired upgrades.
鈥淲e鈥檙e thinking we could use the money to install some new carpet. There鈥檚 also a water leak in the building that鈥檚 in need of repair. This would definitely assist with that. As well, we could put some aside for a rainy day fund or place it into a [Guaranteed Investment Certificate]. There are a few options we can pursue,鈥� Hunter said.
As for what鈥檚 next, the Legion will start the process up all over again this week, with a starting jackpot of $2,500. Neepawa wasn鈥檛 the only location for a big winner recently, as the CTA at the Royal Canadian Legion #100 in Gladstone was won. Bev Wilson won the prize of $33,801.
