McHenry VFW's Queen of Hearts drawing kicks off with $5K winner

Had the 10 of hearts been drawn out of the deck used for the McHenry Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4600’s Queen of Hearts raffle last year, the lucky ticket holder only would have won $100.

But under the game’s new rules to cut down on labor costs and comply with a new city ordinance, the winning ticket holder earned $5,000 in the very first drawing of the year.

McHenry VFW Senior Vice Cmdr. Ben Keefe said things started off a little slower than last year, which he attributed to the lack of promotion and construction, which couldn’t be performed earlier because of the wet weather this year.

Although Linda Nelson, auxiliary membership chairwoman with the McHenry VFW, estimated the ticket count at about 40,000 Sunday, Keefe said the number probably was closer to 30,000 at the time of the drawing.

“Sunday was a lot slower than we thought,” Keefe said.

However, the VFW still was able to get a new parking lot ready for the first drawing, replace the main furnace in the banquet hall and upgrade electric service to the whole building by the time the game began, Keefe said. His hope is to break ground on a beer garden in the fall.

Under the Queen of Hearts’ new rules, instead of a 54-card deck, the raffle will only use two jokers and cards running 10 through ace.

If a 10 is drawn, the ticket holder will receive $5,000. Jacks will be worth $10,000 to the ticket holder, kings will be worth $15,000, aces will be worth $20,000, the three queens other than the queen of hearts will be worth $25,000, and the jokers will be worth $30,000.

Under a new city ordinance, the game must finish by July 30. In accordance with this new ordinance, the maximum individual payout for the game will be $3 million, allowing for a maximum jackpot of $6 million.

This year, the ticket holder will receive 50% of the jackpot, 40% will go to the VFW and veterans programs, and 10% will build the next pot.

Leslie Torchalski of Cary said she wished the VFW still did a 54-card draw since there was a bigger portion of the pot at stake, but she understands the need to do an accelerated game.

Mike Torchalski of Cary said he likes that the new rules provide more chances to win money since the odds were so low to win a significant amount of money last year.

Only the queens and jokers carried monetary amounts greater than $100 in last year’s game.

He also commended the new parking lot.

“I had no idea [the VFW] had that much land,” Mike Torchalski said. “I’m surprised to see how big [the lot] was.”

Tickets are $5 apiece – as opposed to last year when tickets were six for $5 – and can only be bought at the McHenry VFW with cash.

Keefe said there was some criticism about the increase in price from some players. He defended the decision by saying that staff spent about 5,000 hours last year just to prepare tickets each week, which became one of the most stressful parts of the game.

Hours to buy tickets are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets also will be sold from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday before the drawing.

Winning ticket holders will have 24 hours to contact the McHenry VFW and make arrangements to verify their ticket and receive their prize. A government-issued ID is required to receive any prize. The ticket portion marked “keep this coupon” must be presented to claim the payout.

Keefe said McHenry police continue to monitor the VFW and the number of volunteers has grown.