Jackpot still up for grabs

The crowd at 54 Country — including (foreground, left to right) Bryan Stone, Shelley Skinner and Kristan Allen — reacts to the revelation that the lottery isn't over yet. Instead of the ace of spades, Wednesday's winner picked the two of diamonds.
The crowd at 54 Country — including (foreground, left to right) Bryan Stone, Shelley Skinner and Kristan Allen — reacts to the revelation that the lottery isn't over yet. Instead of the ace of spades, Wednesday's winner picked the two of diamonds.

The odds of picking the Ace of Spades only after going through the entire deck is a mere 1.85 percent. And yet, with the jackpot standing at $275,197 as of Wednesday night, the VFW lottery will continue for its 54th week.

"When you buy your tickets for next week, you don't need to put a number on it," said Steve Harding, president of the VFW's 83rd Auxiliary.

Wednesday night's winner of the $400 consolation prize, Mark Laughlin, has been playing since the first game. This week, he went in together with his poker group.

"I'm trying to convince them to put the money back in for next week," Laughlin said.

He picked 39, but the Ace of Spades lurks in envelope number 37. He's not too disappointed, he said.

"You had a 50/50 chance," Laughlin said. "It's all in the numbers."

Before the winning ticket was drawn, excitement buzzed through the packed dance hall at 54 Country. Randy Kleindienst, whose son owns the business, estimated between 800 and 1,000 people were present, and even more waited at the VFW.

And judging by the ever-growing jackpot and better-than-ever odds, there's a good chance the crowd will be even larger next week, he said.

Ticket buyers are already dreaming of what they'd do with the winnings.

"I did pick all 39 (on my tickets) because that's my name," said lottery participant April Custard before the drawing. "I'm the kind of person who'd just pay off bills if I win."

She spent about $50 on tickets. Others have spent much more - Tim Brady, for example, said he'd spent $200 so far, though he won $300 back earlier in the game.

On Wednesday, the VFW also held a 50/50 raffle, with a total pot of $6,183. Doug Rutherford took home the prize.

"(The VFW is) making a lot of money," said Doc Kritzer, who was helping sell tickets. "But the VFW does a lot of good for the community, veterans or not."