      A new fundraising game, which theoretically could have players win fantastic amounts of money is expected to begin in Kamsack next month.
           The Kamsack Indoor Rodeo Association plans to launch Lasso the Two, a raffle that makes use of a deck of playing cards and weekly draws, said Dave Matechuk, president of the rodeo association.
           “We look at this as something new and exciting,” Matechuk said.
Lasso the Two is the same game as Chase the Ace, which residents may be aware of because it is being played in other communities, he said. “But our version has a rodeo-themed name.”
Matechuk said that the game will begin as soon as approval is received from Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority.
“We expect to obtain approval before the end of next month,” he said.
In Lasso the Two, the prized card is the two of clubs and every Friday at 7 p.m., a draw will be made from tickets sold for $2 each on that day between 5 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. at Chester’s Place in Kamsack.
The winner of the draw wins 20 per cent of that evening’s ticket sales, while 30 per cent is added to a growing prize pool, and 50 per cent will go to the rodeo association.
The winner of the draw also gets to draw a card from a deck, hoping to draw the two of clubs. If the winner draws the two of clubs, he or she will also win the growing prize pool, ending that “round,” and the next week a new “round,” with a complete new deck of cards begins. The whole game will conclude 52 weeks after it begins.
The association is putting a prize of $500 into a kitty so that until the growing prize pool reaches that amount, players will be able to win at least that amount right from the first week, Matechuk explained.
This game, often called Chase the Ace, has been very successful in other communities, in part because of the large amount of money that players could win, he said.
In addition, this game will bring added people into Chester’s Place and quite likely as they purchase their tickets and wait for the draw, they will be bringing added business to the restaurant, he said.
“We’re hoping to raise funds for the association to help offset the costs of holding the annual rodeo,” he said, explaining that it now costs over $50,000 to stage the Kamsack rodeo.
The 18th annual Kamsack Indoor Rodeo will be held at the Broda Sportsplex during the evening of September 30 and in the afternoon of October 1.
