MELFORT —Jaime Trautman won this week’s Chase the Ace in Melfort.
The winnings, given out on July 26, were $32,056.
Her ticket was bought by her aunt Pat Rumberger, who served as a proxy for Trautman, who lives in Red Deer. She buys proxy tickets for several different people who send her the money and she buys them the ticket.
“[It] gives them an opportunity to support the seven organizations that were running the Chase the Ace and gives them a chance to win the money,” Rumberger said.
Rumberger doesn’t expect a cut of the winnings.
“I don’t do it for myself, I do it so they can. My niece that won has four children, they can use the money.”
She does play herself, but she doubts she will be as lucky.
“This is probably the closest I will ever come to winning,” Rumberger said, laughing.
This is Trautman’s second Chase the Ace ticket in her life.
“Lady Luck was on my side last night,” said Trautman to an exclusive interview with The Recorder on July 27. “I will definitely buy another ticket.”
Trautman didn’t believe her aunt when she told her that she had won.
“I think I said, ‘no way,’ 50 times, it was incredible,” Trautman said.
She woke up the next morning with more than 40 messages from her friends and relatives who heard the news.
Trautman doesn’t know what she will spend the winnings on, but her children are asking to be taken to Hawaii so, “I might just do that”.
Chase the Ace works by people buying tickets. Out of the ticket price, 20 per cent of the money is for the barrel prize, 30 per cent goes into the Ace of Spades jackpot and 50 per cent goes into the founding clubs running the event.
The seven organizations that run Chase the Ace are the Melfort Legion, Melfort Country Club, Melfort and District Curling Club, Melfort Kinsman and Kinettes, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Northeast SPCA, and Melfort Elks.
Rumberger represents the Northeast SPCA.
“I’m very happy for my niece, but I’m part of the organizing committee so I was kind of hoping the ace wouldn’t go yet so the pot would get higher next week, but we’re starting over again.
