Little Current Lions’ was the prototype
LITTLE CURRENT—This Thursday, September 25 marks exactly nine years since the Little Current Lions Club launched Ontario’s first Catch the Ace progressive raffle and, in that time, the club has doled out a whopping half a million dollars in community donations.
Earlier this month, the club gave an impressive $25,000 to the Manitoulin Health Centre (MHC) Auxiliary, which in turn passed it on to MHC for its smart infusion pump campaign.
“It’s thanks to the support of Catch the Ace over these nine years that the club is able to make substantial donations like this which are crucial to the well-being of our community,” said Lion President Bruce Burnett. “Thank you to everyone who continues to support Catch the Ace. We appreciate you so much.”
The Little Current Lions Club was granted the first Catch the Ace lottery licence in the province of Ontario. In fact, the province viewed the club’s new venture a pilot project and kept track of how it all unfolded.
Catch the Ace first caught the nation’s attention when the small town of Inverness, Nova Scotia held a ‘Chase the Ace’ progressive lottery in 2015. Players bought numbered tickets for five dollars each. The person whose ticket was chosen in the weekly draw won a cash prize, plus a chance to pick a card from a deck of cards. If that card turns out to be the ace of spades, they win the accumulated jackpot.
This also captured the imagination of Lions Lori and Dave Draper who were, like thousands of other Canadians, watching the draw eagerly on the news. The Inverness Chase the Ace ran for 48 weeks and in that time, more than 3.5 million tickets were sold, $2.9 million was given out in prizes and a total revenue of approximately $5.89 million was generated and split between two local not-for-profits in the community about the same size as Little Current.
The Lions’—and province’s—first ever Catch the Ace draw was held on September 28, 2016 at Royal Canadian Legion Branch #177 Little Current. Since then, the Lions have held 28 Catch the Ace draws. Thursday’s is the 29th edition.
The rules in Ontario are different from those in Nova Scotia back in 2015. “Catch the Ace is a weekly raffle lottery draw; 20 percent of tickets sales are allotted for the weekly draw prize,” explains Lion Secretary Lori Draper. “The one ticket selected from the ticket drum wins this prize and has a chance at the progressive jackpot. The progressive jackpot builds each week it is not won, with 30 percent of ticket sales added to the prize.” The provincial rules state that the progressive jackpot cannot exceed $30,000 per draw, so if the Ace of Spades is not found by that time, the prize must be won, so an elimination draw occurs with tickets continuing to be drawn until the ace is found.
Within the past year, the Lions have doled out some hefty donations thanks to Catch the Ace. “All money raised from proceeds MUST be donated,” Lion Lori explains. “Non-profit organizations, groups, clubs and institutions that meet the criteria of AGCO (Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario) can all qualify for a donation from us. Little Current Lions Club does not profit from these proceeds.”
There have been several substantial donations of late, including $10,000 to Manitoulin Streams, $10,000 to Little Current United Church for the installation of a heat pump and $10,000 to St. Bernard’s Catholic Church for help renovating the manse and the recent $25,000 to MHC’s smart pump campaign. The Manitoulin Navy League also received $5,000 to help purchase a boat for the Manitoulin 348 Sea Cadet Corps.
Those who help sell the tickets for the Lions reap the rewards, too. “The Manitoulin Panthers made an impressive $10,000 last winter by selling tickets,” Lion Bruce says. Organizations that sell Catch the Ace tickets for the club get to keep $1.60 of each ticket sold. Currently, the Manitoulin Panthers are selling tickets again, as is the St. Bernard’s Church men’s group. “We are always looking for more organizations to get on board,” Lion Lori adds.
As of April 1, the Lions have doled out $783,828 in prizes. “Since we had our first draw in September 2016 we have put smiles on so many faces,” Lion Lori says.
Lion Bruce thanked his secretary for her tireless work in helping to start Catch the Ace and keep it going. “It’s so important to the club, and this community,” he says.
The draws are held each Thursday and can be watched live on the Lions Club Facebook page. For a complete list of where to buy tickets, visit the Facebook page or visit LittleCurrentLionsClub.com.
