A Campbellton, N.B. man successfully picked the ace of spades with six cards left in the deck Thursday night during the Chase the Ace jackpot in Dalhousie, N.B.
Rino Maltais and his wife Danielle took home a cheque for $1.3-million dollars and they say it’s a life changing moment that almost didn’t happen.
“I just said to my husband at dinnertime, 'I’m going tonight! I'm skipping jogging, I have a good feeling, let's go!’ I had to twist his arm a little, but he followed through, and I guess it was worth it!” says Danielle Maltais.
It was the first time the couple played the Dalhousie Chase the Ace lottery during its nearly one-year run.
They were among thousands of people in their cars outside the Recreaplex listening to the draw on the radio.
They say they had to weave through a crowd of thousands to get to the main stage.
“I was holding the ticket so hard, and we didn't look at people, we just slowly running. We wanted to keep a low profile, we were under shock!” says Rino Maltais.
They couple plans on taking their two children to Disneyland, while saving up for their education and splitting the money with Danielle’s mother.
Organizers surpassed their $800,000 fundraising goal through tickets and additional thousands in bar sales by saving the debt-ridden Recreaplex, and providing funds for local rotary club work.
“The community is going to benefit, win-win-win from this event we've been holding, even though they've been doing well every Thursday! We sell out all the restaurants and concession stands in the area,” says Recreaplex manager James Beattie.
Organizers say it’s a welcome boom in activity for a town that's faced economic hardship in the past.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Cami Kepke.
