A relatively small northern community in Manitoba has been making a splash in the national news lately, and at least one group of Kamsack residents has been a part of the excitement.
The Pas, a town of roughly 6,000 people, located north of the 53rd parallel, has been filled with excitement and has been drawing visitors from distant communities on Saturdays which is the day The Pas Royal Canadian Legion Branch holds its draw for a Chase the Ace (CTA) game.
The current round of CTA began on January 7 of 2017 with a pot of $65,000. As of February 24 the accumulated jackpot was $636,950. That prize was not won, so the estimated pot for March 3 was $713,090.
The winner of the consolation prize on February 24 walked away with $22,842.
“We started coming here in November, when the prize was over $200,000,” said Patz McMillan of Kamsack, who was raised in Flin Flon. “I know every bump in the highway between Kamsack and The Pas because I have driven that stretch so many times.”
Jake Brown and Lorie Vleugels are from Creighton, about an hour-and-a-half from The Pas. Co-workers and best friends, they were taking in CTA in The Pas whenever they could.
After the prize topped $200,000, Brown, who befriended McMillan as a youngster and has maintained a close friendship, was able to convince her bff (best friend forever) to join in the chase. McMillan, along with other friends from the Kamsack and Canora area, has been making the three-and-a-half hour trip every weekend since. As of February 24, that was 10 trips, because the CTA draw was suspended for the month of December.
“Now that the prize is so large and there are so many more people wanting to buy tickets, we have had to leave much earlier, and wait in long line-ups in really cold temperatures, McMillan said. “We have had to be creative in how we manage to keep warm. It also makes for a long day.”
Jan Derwores of Kamsack and Rikki Baker of Canora have also been making the trip to The Pas with McMillan to chase the ace.
“Every weekend has become a bit of an adventure. We head out on the highway just as most people are winding down and heading for a warm bed,” said Derwores.
“We have driven through snowstorms with almost zero visibility, came upon several accident scenes, one where we transported a person from her vehicle to the nearest town after she had struck a moose on the highway which had immobilized her vehicle in -30 C temperatures. We have been fortunate to dodge moose, deer and elk on the highway. They seem to pop up at the oddest times.
“Once we arrive in The Pas it is a scramble to find food and fuel before we head to the Legion where finding a place to park is always interesting.
“Because we have a long drive to get there, we are never first in line. We are usually in the 20s or 30s. The regulars ahead of us recognize our vehicle when we pull up and shout out a welcoming ‘You made it!’
“We have been fortunate to find creative solutions to use bathroom facilities at the motel located next to the Legion, and when a person is wearing multiple layers of heavy clothing, it is somewhat tedious.
“The boredom of standing in line for over eight hours in sub-zero temperatures is the worst part. A person has to be bundled up in order not to freeze extremities. If Rikki is with us we have music to listen to as she brings her portable Bluetooth speaker. It helps.
“Around 9 a.m. another regular leads the group in singing O Canada. We miss it if he’s not there,” Derwores said.
Brown said that having a best friend to look forward to meeting is enough motivation to stand outside for more than six hours in -44C temperatures.
“We are five and a half hours apart, but this experience has been bringing us together every weekend, in spite of the fact that it takes us away from our family, pets and loved ones to chase the ace.
“There are some family members who think ‘these women are insane,’ but they would not complain if we were to bring home over half a million dollars,” she said.
To pass the time during the day people in the Legion play games such as Yahtze, cards, board games, Cards Against Humanity as well as read books and magazines, and chat with others. Many new friendships have been cemented while waiting for the draw to take place at 10:15 p.m.
There is a canteen on site where people can enjoy snacks and meals, and liquid refreshments are available.
People began to line up on February 23 at 11 p.m., hoping to get into the Legion the following morning at 10:30 a.m. when the doors opened, because there are only spots for 200 people. Once that number is reached, no more are allowed in.
If people want to leave the building, the security/door personnel will hand out a door-pass and a time limit in which they may return. If for some reason they do not return, their spot will be given to another hopeful who is waiting outside.
Tickets for the draw go on sale from 5 p.m. until cut-off at 10 p.m.
A feature of the CTA is that the Legion gives a local service group the opportunity to raise funds for its group while helping the Legion with the duties associated with running the fundraiser, said Sherry Lynne Lofgren of The Pas, the woman who is the public relations director on the Legion executive.
Sixteen community groups have been given the opportunity to help with, and profit from, CTA. There is a random draw to determine which group will be the one to help for that week.
“They provide the much-needed volunteer manpower to help us at the Legion on the day of the draw, and in return they receive a portion of the money for their organization. I am pleased to say the group on February 24 earned $15,228 for their charity,” said Lofgren.
“I’d like to say a huge thank you to those who come out to support this effort. I find it overwhelming that people stand outside for hours in sub-zero temperatures to support our Legion. The ratio of men and women is fairly evenly split.
“A real bonus has been the increased applications for membership in the Legion. We are always looking for new people to join,” she said.
Brian Simonite of The Pas, past president of The Pas Legion Branch, was quick to say that staff and volunteers have made CTA such a success.
“Our volunteers are fantastic. They put in a lot of hours because they love the Legion, and have fun doing it. We have a strong group of 10 who show up every weekend at 6 a.m. to get things ready for the 10:30 a.m. opening,” he said.
Gerry Miller of The Pas, also a past president of the Legion, pointed out that he has ties to Kamsack. “The Green family of Kamsack are my cousins,” he said.
The line-up of early birds hoping to secure a spot in the Legion to be able to buy tickets for a chance to win the big cash prize was comprised of people from age 19 to beyond age 80. Some brought chairs, while others had set up ice-fishing shacks that had heaters inside.
On February 10, a young expectant mother, who was eight months pregnant with her second child, joined the ever-growing line-up at 4 a.m., with temperatures hovering around -28C.
When asked what had motivated her to venture out in the extreme cold, at such an early hour, she said that it was her first time in the line-up and she was willing to brave the cold in the hope of winning the large cash prize to secure the future for her and her growing family.
“People were very nice to me while I stood in line outside and offered to let me stand in the ice-shacks to warm up periodically. I was wearing lots of layers and had extra blankets,” she said.
The Legion has a Facebook page and every Saturday night, shortly after 10 p.m., Lofgren takes the action live and anyone can watch the draw as it happens if they have Internet access.
As of March 10 the major prize was not won and the projected prize for March 17 was $893,860 with four cards left from which to draw the ace of hearts.
