Cody Snyder plans to wait in line for his chance at more than $1 million
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
When the Hagersville Lions Club starts selling tickets for its Chase the Ace lottery on Thursday morning, at least one farmer will be waiting in line.
Cody Snyder, who raises turkeys in the community, plans to spend time in line with others vying for the jackpot that stands around $1.4 million.
“My group is a bit more strategic as we send one person every week,” he told Farms.com. “This week is my turn so I’ll be waiting in line at some point tomorrow. My advice to people is to go later in the evening when it slows down. But you run the risk of the Lions Club running out of tickets.”
Here’s a breakdown for those unfamiliar of how the Chase the Ace lottery works.
People purchase tickets and guess which one of 52 numbered envelopes contains the ace of spades.
The winning ticket holder automatically wins 20 per cent of the day’s ticket sales.
Cody Snyder with his wife, Deanna. (Facebook photo)
In a March 4 update, for example, the Lions Club shared a winning ticket holder walked away with more than $133,000.
Once the winner of the day has been drawn, organizers open the winner’s chosen numbered envelope. If the envelope has the ace of spades, he or she wins the jackpot. If it doesn’t, the lottery continues for another week.
Nine envelopes remain unopened.
The Hagersville Lions Club only sells tickets on Thursdays from 9am to 7:30pm. One ticket is $10 and or it’s three for $20. The draw happens live at 8pm on its Facebook page.
Proceeds from the sales support the Hagersville Food Bank and other club initiatives.
On the club’s Facebook page, a photo from November 2022 shows the Chase the Ace jackpot at $15,555.
When the calendar flipped to 2023 is when the excitement started to increase, Snyder said.
“I’d say it was around January when things really started to take off,” he said. “More people in the community started coming out. It’s all anyone is talking about now.”
The contest has garnered so much excitement that there are stories of people coming in from other communities and even other provinces, Snyder said.
With Hagersville being the temporary gambling capital of Ontario, it’s a benefit to the greater community.
People waiting in line for hours means they’re frequenting local businesses, Snyder said.
“It’s great visibility for Hagersville and Haldimand County,” he said. “There’s no doubt people are visiting restaurants and businesses here. Lineups are already 100-people deep by 8:30 in the morning. Those people are likely grabbing a coffee or something at a local shop.”
With Snyder planning to buy tickets tomorrow, he’s given some thought about what he’d do with $1.4 million.
Some money would be for business and some would be for pleasure, he says.
“I think I’d probably invest some money in the farm from an expansion perspective, and likely go on vacation,” he said. “My wife and I didn’t get a chance to get somewhere warm, but certainly that jackpot could help us do that.”