Canada’s largest-known Chase the Ace jackpot has been won — and it’s a big one

A couple from Beresford, N.B., has won $8.2 million in a Chase the Ace fundraiser. The raffle lasted nearly a year and is considered the largest win ever for the game in Canada.

The small New Brunswick town of Beresford is now home to overnight multi-millionaires, as a couple from the area became the recipients of the largest-known Chase the Ace prize in Canadian history after winning $8.2 million on Tuesday night.

René Beaudet, the organizer for Chaleur ATV Club Chase the Ace — which has hosted a weekly draw in Petit-Rocher since the raffle began in February 2023 — said Danny and Murielle Robbins laid claim to the record-setting jackpot after selecting an ace of hearts out of the game’s remaining five cards.

“It was the most exciting thing in the world,” Beaudet said, adding about 730,000 tickets were sold throughout the past week in anticipation of this most recent draw.

As more than 11 months passed and the grand jackpot remained unselected, the consolation prizes for previously weekly winners continued to increase along with ticket sales — as last week’s winner received about $435,000.

Each week, the previous winner is blindfolded and then tasked with selecting a winning ticket at random. After the ticket is chosen, organizers phone the individual and notify them of their winning prize.

“We told him (Danny) he had won at least a $488,000 consolation prize, so we asked him to pick a number from one to five, whichever envelope he wanted. His wife said she was going to pick number three and then finally she said, ‘I don’t want to take the chance, you decide in case I don’t pick the right one.'” Beaudet explained.

Fortunately for the Robbins’ family, their hesitation paid off.

“He decided on envelope number two and once we opened it, it was the ace of hearts. So, then we announced to him that he was automatically a millionaire.”