Eskimos 50/50 jackpot reached $348,000
The 50/50 jackpot at the Battle of Alberta game between the Edmonton Eskimos and Calgary Stampeders reached more than $348,534 before ticket sales were ended.
More than 40,000 people showed up for Thursday night's game — with the promise of a large 50/50 jackpot likely being a factor. The $71,732 jackpot from the Eskimos home game on July 11 went unclaimed, so the prize went towards tonight’s jackpot.
Some people stood in line for more than 45 minutes waiting to get their tickets while others missed the first half of the game entirely. Many 50/50 ticket sellers were escorted around the stadium by police and security.
The winning ticket number 280731C was posted on the Eskimos website after the game. The winner will have until Monday July 28 at 4 p.m. MT to claim the big prize.
Eskimos staff had previously hoped the jackpot would reach $200,000.
Before the game Allan Watt, the team's president of marketing and communications, said there was lots of excitement about the big prize.
“Through this week we’ve had people phoning saying I need to get a ticket, I want to go there,” Watt said. “And then there’s companies putting pools together because there’s two people going, so they’re all chipping in.”
New record likely set
The 50/50 jackpot from Thursday's game will likely set a record for the Eskimos.
One of the largest 50/50 wins to date in Canada was in Reginalast year during the Grey Cup. While records were broken on the field, a new benchmark was established off field when the raffle reached $504,174.
According to experts, the half-million dollar jackpot eclipsed the previous record for the largest 50/50 raffle at a single sporting event by over two hundred thousand dollars.
The lucky fan, Denny Charlebois from Ottawa, On, walked away from the game with $252,087 in cash.
Correction : The winning ticket number is 280731C. There was a typo in the earlier version of the story. (Jul 25, 2014 9:18 AM)
