Russell Catch the Ace frenzy: Jackpot reaches $524K with only five envelopes left
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RUSSELL — The sales continue to grow as Russell’s ace of spades continues to hide! The upcoming July 4th draw now boasts a jackpot of over a half million dollars with only five envelopes left, and a weekly win of $35,000.
Online ticket sales at www.kinclubofrussell.ca/catch-the-ace-tickets/ continue to explode with record numbers — so much so the website is starting to bog down, concedes organizer Doug Anthony of the Kin Club of Russell.
“Everybody in the entire world wants our product,” exclaims a frazzled sounding Anthony on June 29, after a technical glitch hampered sales on the website for a day (now resolved).
The jackpot for this Sunday’s draw will be “at least” $524,000, Anthony reports.
Last Sunday’s draw event failed to turn up the ace; Dan Strugar of Wainfleet took home the June 27 weekly win of $35,365 but pulled the Ten of Clubs with his choice of envelope #43. A week earlier, Dawn and Gary Smith of Kanata won $33,317 but the ace also proved elusive when they picked envelope #32 to reveal the Jack of Diamonds.
The longer the game runs, the bigger the jackpot gets and the higher the donation rendered to local charitable causes. Six selected charities are now in line collect a combined $750,000, says Anthony.
“We’re the best odds in the entire province with five envelopes left,” he asserts. “Nobody can compete with that.”
“And we’re having fun. After last week’s draw, Cindy and I just looked at each other and said, ‘We just made another $90,000 or $100,000 for charity.”
It’s now the biggest catch the ace draw currently operating in Ontario, and possibly the longest running. The game was launched on Sept. 8, 2019 but has seen long periods of forced inactivity because of pandemic lockdown measures.
Because of surging traffic on the Kin Club website, Anthony is asking the public to buy tickets from local retailers if possible. Buying online remains possible but requires multiple tries because of the high volumes there, he says, observing, “It’s a nice problem to have.” Online tickets sales remain open until Saturday at 11:59 p.m., July 3rd for the July 4th draw.
Otherwise, buy tickets at: (Embrun) Pharmacie Notre Dame, Embrun Convenience, Valoris, Giant Tiger, Boni Choix, Boutique Lady Jo Gift Shop; (Russell) Russell Foodland; (Winchester) Winchester Foodland; (Brinston) Brinston General Store; (Hallville) Loughlin’s Country Store; (Ottawa) Kelly’s Boutique; (Limoges) Depanneur du Village.
Six charities are benefiting from funds raised: (Cystic Fibrosis Canada [Ottawa Chapter], Breast Cancer Action Ottawa, Osgoode Care Centre, Russell Minor Hockey Association, Valoris Foundation and the Winchester District Memorial Hospital Foundation).
“This is beyond exciting,” says WDMH Foundation Managing Director Kristen Casselman. “We are so grateful to the Kin Club of Russell and everyone who is buying tickets to support local charities, including ours.”
