Inverness Chase the Ace jackpot may top $900K Saturday

Excitement is building in Inverness for Saturday's Chase the Ace draw, which could top $900,000.

Organizers say they've extended hours to try and meet the massive demand.

"Everywhere you go, there's going to be people finding their way to either the legion on Central Avenue or up to the arena on Forest Street," said Cameron MacQuarrie, the vice-president of the Inverness Legion.

Traffic tie-ups

On Friday afternoon, Nova ScotiaRCMP warned people that parking restrictions will be in place in the area over the weekend.

There will be free parking available at Inverness Education CentreAcademy on Veterans Memorial Court andpaid parking at the Inverness Raceway.

There will be parking restrictions in place for:

• Highway 19:As posted (north of Inverness on the west side of thehighway).
• Highway 19:From Quincy Street to Maple Street (west side of the highway only).
• Forest Street:From Highway 19 to the Inverness Arena (south side of the street only).
• Maple Street:From Highway 19 to the Inverness Raceway (south side of the street only).

RCMP are encouraging people to carpool to reduce traffic.

Ace not drawn for 45 Saturdays

Last week, the lines to get into the venues to purchase tickets exceeded one kilometre as the community gathered with the hopes of taking home a huge cash prize.

• Chase the Ace in Inverness: 7 things to know

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 20 per centof the take and a chance to draw the ace of spades from a deck of regular playing cards to win the big prize. Thirty per cent of ticket sales goes into the jackpot and if the ace of spades is not drawn, the big prize grows.

The two organizations that are benefitingfrom the remaining 50 per cent of the ticket sales are the Inverness Legion and the Inverness Cottage Workshop.

For the last 45 Saturdays, the ace of spades has not been drawn, meaning there are only seven cards left in the deck.

The jackpot for this weekend's drawwill be$601,837.48 plus 30 per cent of the ticket sales for the day.

MacQuarriesaid $700,000 in tickets was sold for last week's draw. He said this weekend they've extended the ticket-buying window and will now be open between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. He said he expects to add at least another $200,000 to $300,000 to the pot.

Boost to local businesses

Enthusiasm for Chase the Ace has continued to grow in the community.

"It's been building for the last year and people have been coming and gathering and getting to know each other and meeting old friends. Families are getting together and using it as a chance to come to Inverness and enjoy the weekend. It's easy to like," said MacQuarrie.

So many people have been jammed into the two venues for Chase the Ace that cell service was wiped out last Saturday. That won't happen this week though.Bell Mobility iserecting a temporary cell tower in Inverness, strictly to cope with the anticipated overload on Saturday.

Chase the Ace has also been a boost to area businesses as it has been getting people out of their homes and into the community.

"We're going into a shoulder season, just before Celtic Colours hits. It helps everybody," said MacQuarrie.