Chase the Ace in Sydney to donate $25K to Fort McMurray relief efforts

Organizers of Sydney's Chase the Ace fundraiser announced Thursday they will be sending $25,000 to aid disaster relief efforts in Fort McMurray as a wildfire continues to devastate the area.

The donation for the Canadian Red Cross will come from charitable proceeds raised from this Saturday's sales.

"We have people from all over, not only Cape Breton, [but] the Atlantic provinces and across Canada that are affected by this," Steve Tobin, the organizer of Sydney's Chase the Ace, said in a statement.

"We stand united. We've seen the spirit of generosity from Cape Bretoners over some time as it relates to this and we want to make sure that we follow suit." 

The game's two sponsors, Ashby Legion Branch 138 and the Horizon Achievement Centre, are the chief beneficiaries. 

Estimated $2.6M jackpot

There are just five cards left to draw. An estimated jackpot of $2.6 million remains.

Chase the Ace is something like a 50-50 draw. But instead of winning half the value of the ticket sales, the winning ticket holder receives a smaller cut of the take and a chance to draw the ace of spades from a deck of regular playing cards to win the jackpot.

Every Saturday, 40 per cent of the money raised goes to the organization behind the draw, 30 per cent to the weekly winner and 30 per cent funnelled into the big prize.

The jackpot builds until someone does draw the ace of spades.

In recent months, as the jackpot unexpectedly grew to hundreds of thousands of dollars and then into the millions, throngs of people have been travelling to Sydney from all over Nova Scotia and beyond.

To avoid volunteer burn-out and to properly prepare, organizers decided a month ago to hold the draw every second weekend instead of weekly.

More ticket venues

The number of ticket venues has also expanded from the original two. This Saturday, two new venues have been added. 

Here is the full list of ticket venues:

• The Membertou Trade and Convention Centre
• The Great Hall at Cape Breton University
• The Ashby Legion
• The Horizon Achievement Centre
• The Upper Concourse at Centre 200
• The New Dawn Centre for Social Innovation
• The Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion
• St. Theresa's Parish Centre
• The Sydney Cedars Club

Tickets will no longer be available at Sydney Academy or the Mayflower Mall.

Parking restrictions will be in place at many of the venues, and police officers and private security will be posted at all locations.

The draw will be live streamed at chasetheacesydney.com.