Ace chase over
Les Ring wins more than $500,000 in Hay River's Chase the Ace lottery
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Monday, November 7, 2016
HAY RIVER
The Chase the Ace weekly lottery in Hay River has come to a dramatic end with a massive jackpot.
On Nov. 4, Les Ring drew the ace of spades from a black box containing just 10 cards, and won $511,034.
"I'm speechless," he told a crowd of people witnessing the draw at The Doghouse Sports Bar in The Ptarmigan Inn.
The total prize consisted of a progressive jackpot that had grown to $463,079 in the 43 weeks of the lottery and a weekly prize of $47,955.
Just moments after his win, Ring told News/North that he experienced a feeling of shock when he realized he had drawn the ace of spades.
"I didn't think I had a chance at all," he said. "But I didn't think I had a chance to even get my ticket pulled. It was pretty amazing. My legs were shaking after and still are."
Ring, who is one of the owners of Ring's Pharmacy, was actually at home when his ticket was drawn to give him the right to draw for the ace of spades, and he was watching the event live on Facebook.
Once his ticket was drawn, he headed to The Ptarmigan Inn.
Ring said he had asked Lisa Boyce, a worker at Ring's Pharmacy, to buy $60 worth of tickets for him.
Just after the draw, he said he doesn't know what he will do with his winnings, but will discuss it with his wife and his family.
Lottery organizer Glenn Smith of the Hay River Curling Club, which presented the lottery, also couldn't believe it when he saw the ace of spades.
"Forty-two weeks in and each time you're used to seeing it not being the ace," he said. "So you expect it to not be the ace."
During the many months of Chase the Ace, the Hay River Curling Club has made an estimated $600,000 in profit.
Smith said the exact figure will be determined in the next couple of weeks.
It was the first Chase the Ace lottery ever held in Hay River.
