A rancher from the Paradise Hill area is walking away with $65,000 after winning Round 10 of the Chase the Ace lottery at the Lloydminster Exhibition Association.
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Ainsley Usenik, who has participated in the draw for roughly four years, was not present at the venue when her name was selected. After receiving a call asking if she could make it within 15 minutes, she authorized organizers to pick a proxy on her behalf.
Jim Hurd, a board director for the Lloyd Ex and a retired RCMP officer, stepped in as proxy and drew the Ace of Hearts on Usenik’s behalf.
“I was talking to my mom right before, and I told her I ended up getting my number picked tonight,” Usenik said. “I said, ‘Oh, I have another call coming in again.’ And that was the call saying that I had won.”
Usenik plans to use the prize money to pay down loans, cover the cost of a recently ordered custom saddle, and donate a portion to a local daycare expansion in Paradise Hill.
A longtime supporter of the Lloyd Ex, Usenik grew up participating in the 4-H Expo and regularly attends events like bull sales, PBR competitions, and serves on the Feastival committee.
“I always am huge on supporting anything that’s local,” Usenik said. “If it’s going back into the community, I love to be able to support something like that ’cause you know the cause that it’s going towards, and that’s what I love to see money go towards.”
Proceeds from the Chase the Ace initiative are going toward preliminary planning for a major infrastructure upgrade at the exhibition grounds.
Ray Foy, committee chair for the Lloyd Ex, said funds raised from past rounds and the current lottery have enabled the organization to prepare for a multi-million-dollar grandstand renovation.
“We’ve actually gotten blueprints drawn up, we’ve gotten quotes, so we basically got what’s called a shovel-ready project there,” Foy said. “Chase the Ace isn’t going to raise enough money to build the grandstands, that’s an $8-million thing, but we’ve got this proposal ready now so that when government grants and funding come available. We can submit that and try and get that grandstands built.”
With Round 10 wrapped up, Round 11 launches with a fresh deck of 52 cards and a reseeded jackpot of $25,000.
The lottery license remains valid for 52 weeks, with roughly 30 weeks remaining on the current license. If the Ace of Hearts is not selected before the final week of the license, the exhibition will hold a mandatory playout draw to guarantee a winner.
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