Tignish Chase the Ace raised nearly $1M

Tignish's Chase the Ace fundraiser brought in about $1 million dollars, says the town's deputy fire chief.

About $490,000 each was raised for the fire department and the legion, and the arena received close to $100,000, Lt. Allan Gavin said.

Gavin said he still can't quite believe how much support the lottery received from people across the province.

• Chase the Ace Tignish, P.E.I., winner Keaton Noye draws lucky card to win $734K jackpot

"We all knew that we were following Inverness and how high it got over there," said Gavin, referring to the fundraiser that wrapped up in the Nova Scotia community last fall, with a jackpot of nearly $1.8 million and $1.27 million each going to the legion and a local charity.

"But when you start anything like that, you're hoping to fundraise as much as possible but you never really think that you're going to get to that point, you know, where you're talking a million dollars."

Gavin says the fire department is planning to spend the money to upgrade its trucks.

Keaton Noye pulled the winning card on Nov. 28. He and 17 co-workers who went in on the ticket together shared a $734,000 jackpot.

Another Chase the Ace is already underway in the community.

Meanwhile, for its own Chase the Ace competition, the North River Fire Department in Cornwall has decided to sell tickets ahead of time to cut back on crowds.

Tickets are sold at local gas stations and grocery stores and even a drive-thru. And the winner doesn't have to be at the draw to claim their price.