The Glace Bay Minor Hockey 50/50 draw is the hottest ticket in town each year.
Organizers are searching for a bigger drum because the number of tickets sold continues to pile up each week at the Glace Bay minor hockey office.
The jackpot has grown and the weekly prize is now topping more than $35,000.
“It's the buzz in the community,” said Glace Bay minor hockey president James Edwards. “People are looking for the 50/50 ticket. The merchants are calling looking to have them in their shops.”
The number of kids playing hockey in Glace Bay is growing because the association offered free registration this year. It has translated to nearly one hundred new players.
They've also partnered with a new female hockey association on the island named the Cape Breton Blizzard.
The end goal is to have players lacing up at no cost.
“All of the females in industrial Cape Breton playing are registered in Glace Bay minor hockey, which enables them to sell the Glace Bay minor hockey tickets and reap the benefits of the 50/50 program,” Edwards says. “Sell tickets and reap the benefits.”
Glace Bay minor hockey has had to add a fourth drum for their weekly draw. Their biggest draw will take place close to Christmas.
Edwards says they are already searching for a bigger drum.
“I don't know if we will hit the mark we hit a couple years ago with the $144,000, but I would not be surprised the way the draw is going so far this year,” Edwards said.
Office manager Tracey Hanrahan is the one who makes that call to deliver the good news.
“It's always really exciting, but especially when the prize is in the thirties,” said Hanrahan. “As soon as they see the Glace Bay minor hockey number on the phone, the excitement is there and I just can't wait to tell them how much the prize actually is.”
A call thousands hope they'll receive when the next ticket is drawn on Sunday.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore.
