New Waterford Chase the Ace Won; York County Down to 3

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By Avery Chase Ellis · Last verified November 5, 2026 · Checked at the source

Two of the closest card games in Atlantic Canada reached the end of the line this week. In Cape Breton, the Knights of Columbus Chase the Ace that had been raising money for Maple Hill Manor since last fall announced a winner on Sunday night, November 1, after 50 weeks. In New Brunswick, the York County Sledders found the third of the four Aces in their "Chase the LAST Ace" game, leaving three cards in the deck and a final-Ace jackpot the club puts at over $35,000. Here's what each organiser has published so far.

New Waterford, NS: the round ends after 50 weeks

The Chase the Ace in support of Maple Hill Manor and Knights of Columbus Council #3209 ran Sunday draws at the Columbus Club, 3236 Plummer Avenue in New Waterford, with overflow seating at the New Waterford Legion and a Facebook live stream just before each draw. Tickets were also sold at Fraser's Store, and in Glace Bay at the Main Event and Bizzy Bees. Proceeds supported Maple Hill Manor, the community's long-term care home, and the council's own work.

The game had been closing in on its Ace for weeks. The club's event for Sunday, October 25 put the jackpot at over $100,000 with four cards left. That night's ticket holders drew the 2 of Hearts and took home $9,643, so the deck went into November with three cards. The club's event for Sunday, November 1 described the jackpot as "estimated to be over 120,000," with three cards remaining.

That night the council posted its congratulations to the winner of "tonight's KoC Council #3209 / Maple Hill Manor Chase the Ace lottery" and thanked "the many volunteers, businesses and musicians who have supported us over the last 50 weeks." The round is over.

What the club hasn't posted yet: the final jackpot paid, and which card ended the game. The last published figure is the pre-draw estimate of over $120,000, and we're not going to guess beyond it. When the council posts the final amount, we'll add it here and to the New Waterford KofC listing. The round will also move to our Recently caught page.

One thing to keep straight if you live in the area: New Waterford has two card games. This one was the Knights of Columbus game at the Columbus Club. The New Waterford Jig the Joker at the community centre (the rink) is a separate game and is still running. Other live Cape Breton and mainland games are on our Nova Scotia Chase the Ace page.

Nackawic, NB: three cards left, and one of them is the last Ace

The York County Sledders Chase the LAST Ace works differently from a standard Chase the Ace. The deck holds all four Aces, and each Ace drawn pays a prize, with the main jackpot reserved for whoever opens the last Ace. That's why this game has run so long with so few cards: it needs four Aces found, not one.

On November 2 the club's page showed four cards left, two of them Aces, and a pot of over $33,000. Then, at the Tuesday, November 3 draw, a ticket holder found the third Ace. The club's newest post, read November 5, sums up where things stand:

Cards left	3, including the final Ace
Final-Ace jackpot	"sitting over $35,000 and growing"
Next draw	Tuesday, November 10
Ticket deadline	Monday, November 9 (e-transfer orders by email, with your name and phone number)
Where to buy in person	Big Axe Brewery, Nackawic Irving and Pizza Twice in Nackawic, during their business hours
Prices	$5 each, 3 for $10 or 7 for $20

Asked in the comments whether players need to be at the Big Axe for the draw, the club replied that they don't: it calls the ticket holder if their ticket is picked. Proceeds support the region's snowmobile trail clubs. Details are on our York County Sledders listing.

What three cards does and doesn't mean

With three cards left, the ticket holder drawn on November 10 has a 1-in-3 chance of opening the final Ace. That's one half of the odds, and it's the half a shrinking deck improves. The other half is whether your ticket is the one drawn at all, and that depends on how many tickets are sold that week, which the club doesn't publish. A three-card deck usually brings a rush of ticket sales, so that half of the odds can get longer just as the deck gets shorter. Both halves are explained on our How it works page, along with why prize splits differ from one licence to the next.

Other decks to watch

Two more Atlantic games we track, as of our latest readings:

• Chase the Ace Miscouche (PE): $50,000 with 12 cards left at our November 2 reading, draws Saturdays. Listing
• Dalhousie Legion Branch 17 (NB): the Legion estimated the jackpot at $23,000 for its Saturday, October 31 draw; next draw Saturday, November 7 at 8 p.m. Card count not published. Listing

More are on our New Brunswick Chase the Ace page. Across Canada we now track 162 lotteries, 133 of them live, as of November 4. Browse every live lottery, see the 15 games we added this week, or sign up for the weekly jackpot email for the biggest pots, the Aces caught and the decks running lowest.

Licensing and playing responsibly

Both games are licensed charitable lotteries. In Nova Scotia, charitable gaming is regulated by the Alcohol, Gaming, Fuel and Tobacco Division; in New Brunswick, by the Gaming Control Branch of the Department of Justice and Public Safety. Each licence sets its own prize structure and eligibility rules. You generally need to be physically in the province to buy a ticket, and to meet the minimum age in the lottery's own rules (18+ or 19+, depending on the game and province). Check before you buy.

A deck down to three cards, or a pot past $100,000, can make a ticket feel like a sure thing. It isn't. Treat the ticket as a donation with a chance attached, set a budget before you buy, and don't raise it because a pot is growing or a deck is shrinking. If gambling stops being fun, free and confidential help is available: in Nova Scotia, the Gambling Support Line, 1-888-347-8888; in New Brunswick, the Gambling Information Line, 1-800-461-1234. Help lines for every province are on our responsible gambling page.

Play the Ace is an independent tracker. We don't sell tickets or run any of these lotteries. Always confirm details with the organiser before buying.