Queen of Hearts jackpot has grown for months. Now Waterloo waits to crown a millionaire
Tim Ceradsky of Columbia had a chance at winning more than $1 million in the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School Queen of Hearts raffle in downtown Waterloo Tuesday night.
The card he selected from a sealed poster board was the 7 of Hearts. If he had picked the Queen, he would have won the $1,052,545 jackpot, which has been growing since March.
The rest of the thousands of would-be millionaires, who filled the streets of downtown Waterloo on a cool, misty night, can keep dreaming until next week’s drawing. Some of them cheered when they heard Ceradsky didn’t win the jackpot.
There are 17 cards left to pick in the Catholic school school fundraiser waiting to be picked at the next drawing, which will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday next to the Outsider pub at 104 S. Market St.
In a new twist announced Tuesday night, no new players will be registered since the jackpot crossed the $1 million threshold. Instead, only those who have already registered will be able to buy tickets for upcoming drawings.
“It’s what you want to hear,” said Ceradsky when asked what went through his mind when he heard his ticket No. 13100 called, giving him the chance to pick the Queen of Hearts and win the jackpot.
He had bought 100 of the $1 raffle tickets and selected card No. 51 from the board of remaining playing cards.
If he had won, he said he would have paid off his house, put some money in the bank and made a donation to his church.
As Ceradsky walked calmly through the crowd and up to the tent to pick his playing card, people some shouted they wanted to be his best friend while others said they counted on him to buy the next round of drinks.
Stephanie Cade of Belleville squeezed into a spot near the large roller barrel filled with tickets to see if her Queen of Hearts raffle ticket was drawn before a festive, electric crowd.
“I love it,” Cade said. “I’m sure everybody could use the money.”
Cade has been playing the Queen of Hearts game for about a month.
Andy Armstrong of Cahokia Heights looked over the throng where Market Street was closed to accommodate the crowd.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “Everybody’s friendly.”
Armstrong said he bought $20 worth of tickets and was glad it was to benefit the school.
Fundraiser for school
Lori Matzenbacher, principal of Saints Peter and Paul, said the school gets 20% of the ticket sales and the rest of the money goes to the jackpot. Participants have to be present to win the full jackpot, but can still get half the pot if they’re not present. The other half of the jackpot is then saved for a new round of the game.
Matzenbacher said Tuesday the school has not yet tabulated how much it will earn because there are ongoing costs associated with the drawing. She said the school has not yet determined what it will do with the money raised from the raffle.
The crowds rolling into Waterloo each Tuesday night for the game have provided a boost to the town’s economy, Matzenbacher said.
“It’s become a busy evening here in Waterloo,” she said. “The local downtown bars, restaurants even storefronts are benefiting. We have some people coming in from out of town.”
Matzenbacher said the Outsider pub volunteers to host the weekly drawing.
To play the Saints Peter and Paul raffle, participants have had to register with the game organizers and show a valid driver’s license. They have to be at least 21 and can buy as many tickets as they want.
All of the tickets sold for a Tuesday night drawing are destroyed after one is selected at 7 p.m. and players can start buying tickets again at the Outsider on Wednesday.
Last week, the person selected had drawn the 9 of Clubs when the jackpot was $892,786.
Queen of Hearts games have become popular in the metro-east in recent years with some jackpots hitting around $1 million.
A Belleville News-Democrat investigation in 2017 showed that some Illinois Queen of Hearts raffles may have been operating outside state laws, thus exposing organizers to a potential liability, experts said.
Cities have enacted new ordinances creating oversight and capping jackpots.
A Waterloo ordinance from 2017 limits a Queen of Hearts grand prize at $2 million. In Belleville, the cap is $500,000.
This story was originally published December 7, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
