Sydney Chase the Ace jackpot expected to hit $1.1M next week

The ace of spades is playing hard to get in Cape Breton again and the jackpot in the charity draw in Sydney is expected to be more than $1.1 million next week.

Saturday night the estimated jackpot was about $700,000 but when the coveted card wasn't draw the winners, Frances andNormanOramof Hay Cove,went home with about $170,000.

Next weekend there will be only 10 cards left.

The money raised from the Chase the Ace will be shared between theAshbylegion and the Horizon Achievement Centre, an organization that provides training and employment services for adults with mental disabilities.

"We want it to go on for as long as possible, but we know it's getting to be a zoo out there," said John MacInnis, president of the AshbyLegion.

MacInnis said the demand for Chase the Ace tickets is unbelievable.

"We have almost $2 million in tickets done up," said MacInnis, "The people ripping the tickets can't keep up with the pace for the selling, so we have to get more volunteers."

All that interest means organizers may have to add a seventh venue to accommodate people, according to StephenTobin,thebusiness development manager for the Horizon Achievement Centre.

"We're in the process right now of adding an additional venue. We certainly will have to up our security at all our locations," said Tobin.

"Once we reach that point where it's possible that we're going to make somebody a millionaire, we expect that our sales and attendance will increase."

Tobin said the new venue could be the CedarsClub in downtown Sydney.

MacInnis said the legion wants to keep theChase the Acegoing for as it can because it has pressing maintenanceneeds.He hopes with the money raised the legion can afford to do things like replace itsair conditioning system.

The Horizon Achievement Centre plans to use its share of the money to build a new facility to house its programs,

"We don't mind giving away $168,000, $170,000, we`d like to keep the jackpot going,"said MacInnis.

Organizers have been streaming the event on YouTube and through awebsite set up for the draw.