Queen of Hearts jackpot swells at JJ's

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Queen of Hearts jackpot swells at JJ’s

This paid piece is sponsored by JJ’s Wine, Spirits & Cigars.

There was plenty of snow on the ground and a lot of winter ahead when 54 covered cards went on a board at JJ’s Wine, Spirits & Cigars.

Eight months later, the Queen of Hearts is still hiding.

“It’s what we hoped for, and the game has delivered,” JJ’s owner Tom Slattery said. “Hunting for the Queen of Hearts has been a lot of fun, raised a lot of money for worthy causes and given our guests an increasingly growing jackpot to go after.”

If you’re not familiar with the concept, here’s how it works:

Purchase a ticket – they’re one for $5 or five for $20 – and then wait for the drawing. If you’re playing in person or online, you choose a card on the board. If it’s the Queen of Hearts, you win the jackpot! You can play as many times as you want.

If you don’t find the queen, you win 10 percent of that week’s ticket sales. The pot is a cumulative total from week to week, with 50 percent of the ticket proceeds – less the 10 percent to the weekly winner – added to the total. The remaining 50 percent is split by Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Dakota and Dakota Dachshund Rescue.

If you play online, you can choose your card virtually should you win the drawing.

If you don’t choose the Queen of Hearts, you still win 10 percent of the weekly sales, and the remaining 40 percent is added to the jackpot total for the following week.

“It adds up to a lot,” Slattery said. “Last week’s winner took home $675, and we’re quickly approaching a six-digit jackpot.”

That number is continually changing as more tickets are purchased, but it’s over $90,000 for the event this Tuesday. There are 21 envelopes remaining.

Tickets are sold online until 2 p.m. each Tuesday and in person until 6:45 p.m., with the drawing at 7:11 p.m. In-person sales are cash only.

“Things are getting really exciting now,” said Mike Broderick, community outreach officer for Ronald McDonald House.

“So far, we have raised over $20,000 for each charity.  That means over 400 nights of family stays at one of our two Ronald McDonald Houses in Sioux Falls and hundreds of vet bills to get hundreds of rescued dogs ready to be rehomed.”

Ronald McDonald House celebrates its 40th anniversary in Sioux Falls this year. In that time, it has served more than 19,000 families who have stayed more than 135,000 nights while a loved one received medical care.

Dakota Dachshund Rescue brings some canine guests to the Queen of Hearts drawings every week as the organization educates about its mission of adopting and fostering as a home-based rescue that relies on donations.

“This is a great example of what we’re all about at JJ’s,” Slattery said. “Giving back to our community while finding ways for our guests to have fun, enjoy some food and drink specials and arrive knowing that a typical Tuesday could turn into the day you become a big winner.”