Sydney Chase the Ace drawing from Inverness

The weekend migration patterns in Cape Breton appear to be reversing,thanks to another Chase the Ace.

Last summer, people from the Sydney area flocked to Inverness eachSaturday, as the jackpot for that community's draw grew past$1 million.

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Now a draw hosted by the Horizon Achievement Centre and Ashby Legion in Sydney has people moving in the opposite direction.

Bill Dunphy, the Inverness partylinecontact for CBC Radio's Information Morning, said while Inverness is 11 weeks into a new round of Chase the Ace, with a current jackpot of just over $12,000, some locals areopting to chase a bigger jackpot on the other side ofthe island.

"It's kinda funny,"Dunphysaid."I think this pastSaturdayit might have suffered for the fact that there's a bigger one in Sydney, and a lot of people in Inverness reciprocated in a manner in which everybody from the Sydney area came to Inverness during the summer.

"I think we have people that are packing up and heading to Sydney every week."

'Chase the Ace economy'

Dunphysaid people tellhim they make a day of it in Sydney. They do a little shopping and have a meal before chasing the ace.The estimated jackpot for this week's Sydney draw is more than $500,000.

Stephen Tobin, thebusiness development manager for the Horizon Achievement Centre, saidmore than 4,000people turned out to the draw's six venues last Saturday, and 13,000watched online.

"Restaurants and bars, a lot of them have actually contacted us for permission to livestream the event right in their establishments," saidTobin. "So we know that people are definitely coming here, and they're spending money."

Bill Dunphysaidit's like a Chase the Ace economy has built itself up on Cape Breton, with money moving from one community to the next.

"It stays in the community, which is better than seeing it go off to Lotto 6/49 or whatever."