EVERYTHING
ABOUT THE GAME.

A weekly progressive raffle. A standard 52-card deck is sealed inside 52 numbered envelopes at the start of the round. Each week we draw one ticket from the pool of tickets sold that week. The ticket holder picks one envelope to be opened on stage. If the envelope contains the Ace of Spades, that ticket holder wins the entire progressive jackpot. If it doesn't, the envelope is removed from play and the jackpot rolls over and grows the next week.

Each week, 30% of the ticket sales is added to the progressive jackpot pool. Until somebody finds the Ace of Spades, that pool keeps building. With each week the deck also shrinks by one card — so the odds of catching the Ace improve every single week.

The round ends. The jackpot is paid out in full to the winning ticket holder, ticket sales pause briefly, and we kick off a brand-new round with a fresh sealed deck of 52 envelopes. The progressive jackpot resets and starts climbing again from week one.

Tickets start at $10 for 3, with bigger bundles at $20 (10 tickets), $50 (40 tickets), and $100 (100 tickets). The bundles are the same per-ticket discount you'd see at the door, just rolled up to make checkout faster.

Online through our official ticket page, or in person at three Hamilton locations: Eastgate Plaza (handheld machines), Moose Lodge at 1860 Barton St E, and the Shriners Club of Hamilton at 82 Melvin Avenue. Online sales are open 24/7; in-person hours vary by location.

Online: Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. In person: most locations also accept debit and cash. We don't accept American Express or pre-paid gift cards online.

Each ticket is entered in the next upcoming Saturday draw only. To play multiple weeks, you buy a fresh set of tickets each week. Online sales for the upcoming draw close every Saturday at 2:45 PM; anything purchased after that goes into the following week's draw.

Almost certainly yes — check your Junk/Spam folder first, that's where it usually hides. Your entry is recorded in the draw system the moment your payment goes through, so a missing email never affects your tickets. To make future confirmations land in your inbox, mark the email as “Not Junk” and add the sender to your contacts. Still can't find it? Message us on our Facebook page and we'll confirm your order.

Every Saturday at 3:00 PM at the Shriners Club of Hamilton, 82 Melvin Avenue. The room is open to the public — feel free to come watch — but you don't need to be present to win. The draw is also broadcast live on our Facebook page.

No. If your ticket is drawn, we'll contact you using the email and phone number on file. If we can't reach you within a reasonable window, a designated representative on stage will pick the envelope on your behalf — your prize is still yours regardless.

All tickets sold for that week are loaded into our AGCO-approved random selection system, which is operated under licence by our raffle platform partner BUMP. The system pulls a single winning ticket number, which is announced live on stage. The full sales report and draw record are kept on file for AGCO reporting.

Two prizes every week. The weekly cash prize (20% of that week's ticket sales) goes to the holder of the drawn ticket regardless of which envelope they pick. If the envelope they pick contains the Ace of Spades, they also win the entire progressive jackpot, which has been growing every week since the round began.

All prizes are paid by cheque within five business days of the draw, once your identity is verified. The progressive jackpot — because it can be a large sum — is paid by certified cheque after a more thorough ID check, typically within ten business days.

In Canada, lottery winnings from a licensed charitable raffle are not considered taxable income. We don't deduct anything from the prize before it reaches you. We aren't tax advisors, though, so if you have a complex situation we'd suggest checking with an accountant.

You must be 19 or older and physically located in the province of Ontario at the moment of purchase. Our online checkout uses geolocation to verify the second part. Volunteers, board members, and employees of the operating organizations may not purchase tickets while in their official capacity.

Yes. Catch The Ace Hamilton operates under Raffle Licence RAF 1541607, issued by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). Our licence number is printed on every ticket and shown in our website footer. The City of Hamilton and AGCO both receive our weekly sales and prize reports.

Please play responsibly. If gambling is causing problems for you or someone you know, ConnexOntario provides free, confidential support 24/7 — call 1-866-531-2600 or visit connexontario.ca. You can also email us to be added to our self-exclusion list and we'll block your contact details from future purchases.

Every ticket sale is divided the same way: 50% to two Hamilton charity programs, 30% to the progressive jackpot, and 20% to the weekly cash prize. The split is fixed by our AGCO licence and reported in our weekly records — it doesn't change from week to week and we publish the totals at the end of each round.

The Shriners Club of Hamilton directs its share to the Shriners Children's Hospital Transportation Fund, which covers travel and lodging for local families receiving specialty pediatric care at Shriners Children's Hospital — Canada in Montreal. Moose Lodge Hamilton (Lodge 1142) directs its share to Food for Kids Hamilton, a volunteer-run weekend food program that distributes balanced food bags through 76 Hamilton-area schools every Friday.