By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
HAGERSVILLE—Catch the Ace, the runaway success fundraiser organized by the Hagersville Lions and Hagersville Rocks Committee, is crossing a major milestone this week as the grand prize is expected to be a staggering $1.02 million for Thursday’s weekly draw.
Held each week at Hagersville Legion, Catch the Ace is seeing widespread attention from not only local residents but across Ontario as weekly busses transport people from different regions to purchase tickets, creating a seemingly non-stop flood of traffic pouring into Hagersville every week to participate.
Initially, doors for the weekly draw opened at 2:30 p.m., but due to the immense demand for tickets doors now open at 10:30 a.m. to “give people who work late or shifts a chance to buy tickets,” said Hagersville Lions President Dan Matten. “At 10:15 a.m. the lineup was already going from the Legion back to King Street and around the corner to the Libro Bank. Once we opened the doors, ticket sales were constant and strong all day. The estimated jackpot of $808,000 was attracting people from near and far.”
In addition to reaching the $1 million prize milestone, Catch the Ace set another record last week by selling over 86,000 tickets, which means they sold over 16,000 tickets compared to the week before. For the first time since the start of the fundraiser, tickets actually sold out as the previous weekly increase saw 5,000 additional tickets purchased and organizers never expected such a significant jump.
While weekly winner Mike Armstrong didn’t catch the elusive ace, he still won $114,802, which accounts for 20% of that week’s total ticket sales, an astounding $574,010 raised in just one day. Armstrong was part of a neighbourhood group of six couples who live side-by-side in Hagersville and play together. They plan on splitting the winnings equally among them.
“How great is that,” exclaimed Matten.
He estimates that next week’s weekly winner will take home an estimated $120,000, in addition to the $1.02 million should they find the ace of spades, which would bring the fundraiser to its conclusion.
“If you want to be able to win it, you have to be in it. Come this Thursday to the Hagersville Legion and buy your chance to win big – very, very big,” concluded Matten.
Beware fake tickets
OPP Constable Ed Sanchuk posted a video online last week warning the public that ticket scams related to Catch the Ace have appeared in the community.
The only official place to purchase your Catch the Ace tickets is inside the Hagersville Legion, in person, on Thursdays.
According to Sanchuck, police have received numerous calls from the public related to fraudulent tickets: “If you are approached by anybody in parking lots, motor vehicles, or even people approaching you on foot to purchase tickets for this event, please make sure that you understand that those tickets are going to be fraudulent in nature.”
The OPP is looking for information related to ticket scams. Contact 1-888-310-1122 if you have information to share. If you would like to file a report anonymously, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
