Lloydminster welder Neil Thiem said being the winner of $53,825 has taken a bit of time to sink in.
Thiem was all smiles after finding the Ace of Hearts in the Lloydminster Agriculture Exhibition Association’s most recent Chase the Ace.
“I was sitting at home after a day at work and relaxing, thinking about the day, when the phone rang,” said Thiem, who’s a long-time supporting of the draw. “I was like, who the heck is phoning me at this time of night?”
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That question was answered quickly when he was told him had won the weekly jackpot.
Thiem, who lives about 20 minutes outside of Lloyd, couldn’t be there to make the draw. Proxy John Blair, however, pulled his card, which happened to be the Ace of Hearts.
“It was certainly a surprise, a welcome surprise,” said Thiem while accepting his cheque at the Ex on Aug. 19. “It took a while. I was like, ‘Hey, I just won,’ then you start thinking, what are you going to do with it?”
Thiem plans to use the money while visiting family in B.C. where he will be the “favourite uncle.”
“I’m going to be doing a lot of spoiling,” he said of his upcoming trip. “The rest, I think will be going towards retirement.”
Lloyd Ex finance manager Stacy Cadzow was extremely grateful for the community support and explained their portion of the funds will go back into the buildings immediately.
“It’s great that locals come out and we keep doing this every Wednesday. It’s a great game to play,” she said. “Right now, we’re looking at doing some repairs to the buildings and repairs to our equipment.”
The Ex hosts the Canadian Professional Chuckwagon Association finals this weekend and has already started their next round of Chase the Ace.
The first round was held on Aug. 20 with a jackpot starting at $25,000.
Read more: Video: Gorst wins second Lloydminster CPCA title
