WEST PLATTSBURGH — Mary Jo Atkinson was the big winner of the Queen of Hearts raffle Friday evening at American Legion Post 1619.
“Oh my god,” Atkinson said.
“I am shaking so bad; everybody is calling me right now.”
$70,000 POT
This Queen of Hearts raffle run began in March 2023 and with only three cards left, the prize accumulated to more than $70,000.
Every Friday, a ticket is drawn to determine the person who will flip one of 52 cards. The person who flips the Queen of Hearts wins the pot.
You don’t have to be present to win, and Atkinson was not. Connie Giles made the call to let her know, but Atkinson had already received the news from her brother who was one of many that packed the Legion Friday night.
When Atkinson’s ticket was pulled, a chip was selected at random to simulate her choosing a card to flip.
MULTI-YEAR TRADITION
When the Queen of Hearts finally showed herself under card number 40, the place went wild.
Atkinson said she will be using the money to pay her bills and for her new car.
“We’ve done this for about 15 years,” Bob Frenyea, Post 1619 treasurer, said.
“It’s unusual to go on this long. If no one pulls the Queen of Hearts, it goes right to the end.”
According to Frenyea, the raffle once topped out at more than $100,000 in 2016.
“We’re very fortunate to be going this long,” he said.
“We have some good people come in here and good members too.”
SUPPORTS SERVICES
Mark Anderson, Post 1619 commander, said 60 percent of the money raised through the ticket sales goes towards the pot, and 40 percent stays with the Post to support local organizations including scouts, youth sports teams and veterans.
“We do a lot for the veterans,” Anderson said.
According to Vick McCasland, bar manager at the Post, as the pot grows over time, more and more people come to the Post from all over.
“I think that it brings a lot of people here,” McCasland said.
“Some people I haven’t seen in a long time.”