Chase the Ace winner receiving well wishes from around the world

People in the town of Inverness, N.S., are recovering today after the grand Chase the Ace finale, and the winner of the $1.77-million jackpot says well wishes are coming in from around the world.

Donelda MacAskill says she's still trying to figure out if the win really happened, but she has the cheque to prove it.

"I just sit here and pick up the cheque and look at it and say, 'Wow,'" she told CBC News from her home in Englishtown, N.S., which about a hour and 20 minute drive from Inverness, where the popular charity started almost a year ago.

• Chase the Ace winner Donelda MacAskill takes home over $1.7M

MacAskill had been attending the popular fundraiser every Saturday since August.

"It was more like a carnival that you were going to really. You were meeting lots of people from all over," she said.

MacAskill almost missed her chance to reveal the winning card on Saturday night. She had been planning to leave early to beat the traffic when she discovered her raffle ticket was drawn.

Shaking like a leaf

"I was shaking, there's no two ways about that. I couldn't even sign my name," she said.

A helpful volunteer helped guide MacAskill from the Broad Cove Concert Grounds, one of the three venues where people gathered for the draw, through the maze of vehicles to the Inverness arena more than a kilometre away.

He also helped steady her as she stood on stage in front of thousands.

"He didn't let go of me because he was scared I was going to fall over," she said. "I didn't think I would fall over. I was trying to hold my composure, but a lot of things coming at you at once."

MacAskill, who operates a puffin boat tour company, says she'll get her treat seeing her family looked after. She has three sons and four grandchildren, and her husband, John MacAskill, has been undergoing cancer treatments.

Part of the plan for her winnings is to purchase a tractor to help clear snow during the impending winter.

Despite the big win, she plans to continue fishing and operating her puffin boat tour business, just as she always has.

"Life for me isn't really going to change."