Nicholas Donaldson
The Rainy River District Regional Abattoir, along with the Rainy River Federation of Agriculture, will be running a “Catch the Ace” fundraiser.
Proceeds from the event (also known as “Chase the Ace”) will go towards the local 4-H association and “Ag in the Classroom” programs.
The fundraiser works like a lottery, with a weekly prize pot and an ongoing one.
Fifty percent of every ticket sale is put into the two prize pots (20 percent goes into the weekly prize pot and the other 30 percent goes into the cumulative one).
For the cumulative pot, a deck of cards is put into 52 envelopes–one for each card–and numbered randomly.
As the buyer purchases a ticket, they will choose a number to write on it.
Every week a draw is made, with the winning ticket receiving the weekly pot.
The number written on the ticket then is used to pick the corresponding envelope.
If the ace of spades is drawn, the winner receives the cumulative pot.
If any other card is drawn, the envelope is taken out and the fundraiser continues for at least another week.
Every week as envelopes are drawn, the list of numbers will reduce and the chance of winning the cumulative pot will increase.
Tickets, which cost $2 each, will go on sale around Easter weekend.
They will be available at Rainy River Meats, the Emo Inn, and Tompkins Home Hardware, as well as from organizers.
The first draw will take place during Spring Fever Days in Emo (April 20-22), with a draw held every week afterwards until the ace of spades is drawn.
“You pick the ace of diamonds, it goes on,” explained abattoir board member Steve Loshaw.
“And once it’s drawn, it’s off the list,” he added.
Loshaw said if the ace of spades is drawn in the first month or so, they most likely will re-apply for a licence and run it again.
The abattoir and RRFA are running the fundraiser to promote local food and agricultural education.
Organizers said they hope the weekly draws will be big events in different locations around Emo.
“The first draw will be downtown during Spring Fever Days, then at the sports bar, then maybe the Legion,” said Kim-Jo Bliss.
They also talked about moving to different municipalities if the fundraiser goes on long enough.
A barbecue at the abattoir also is being planned to host one of the draws.
“People can come out, have a local burger, and get caught up in the excitement of the draw,” Bliss noted.
The location for each draw will be announced on the abattoir’s Facebook page, and as in Bliss’ weekly “Moos from the Herd” column in the Fort Frances Times.
Loshaw recounted a fundraiser in Nova Scotia, where the cumulative pot reached more than $1 million.
The story made the news a few years ago because of the crowds and money being drawn to the small town there.
He said the rules have become much stricter since then and, because of security reasons, there now is a cap on how much money can be won.
Still, Loshaw said organizers have to be prepared for this carrying on for a long time.
Theoretically, it can go on for almost a year.
“They warned us that people can get worn down from it,” Loshaw conceded.
Organizers also have gotten questions about people choosing the same envelope number on their tickets.
“People have said, ‘This won’t work. What if everyone picks envelope 22?'” noted Bliss.
She explained this isn’t a problem because it is only the winner of the weekly draw that gets a chance at pulling the ace of spades.
“You can even buy five tickets and put the same number on all five if you want,” said Loshaw.
“Only the one that is drawn matters.”
