September 15, 2024
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McHenry VFW’s Queen of Hearts game rolls over again, now at nearly $1.5 million. Here’s all you need to know.

Charitable drawing has been rolling over more than a year

By Shaw Local News Network
The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4600, 3002 IL-120, in McHenry, on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2022. Local leadership within both the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4600, and the regional VFW District 5 will be holding a meeting Wednesday night to determine steps forward after the post hosted an event featuring the founder of the Proud Boys last week.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4600 in McHenry is shown in 2022. (Gregory Shaver — gshaver@shawmedia.com/Gregory Shaver for Shaw Media )

The McHenry VFW Post 4600 has what is believed one of the largest charitable Queen of Hearts games in the state, with the jackpot once topping $7 million. Now the pot has again climbed to more than $1 million. Here’s everything to know about the game.

[ McHenry VFW commander Ben Keefe dies at 50; started Queen of Hearts game, ran weekly drawings ]

How much is the pot?

No overall winner was picked at the last drawing on Sept. 10, so the jackpot now sits at just before $1.5 million.

How much goes to the winner?

The winners get half the pot, minus taxes that are taken out. Forty percent of the pot goes back to the VFW for its programs. The other 10% is seed money for the next jackpot.

When is the next drawing?

Drawings take place at the VFW at 8 p.m. each Tuesday. Winners need not be present, and the drawing are streamed live on the VFW’s Facebook page, facebook.com/MchenryVfwPost4600.

The next drawing is scheduled for Sept. 17.

How much does it cost to play?

Tickets cost $5, cash only, with a limit of $1,000 per purchase.

How do I purchase tickets?

Tickets are sold in person during the VFW Hall’s regular hours Tuesday through Sunday at 3002 W. IL Route 120, McHenry. Tickets for the weekly drawings, which occur at 8 p.m. Tuesdays, are sold up until 7:30 p.m. that night and must be turned in by 7:45 p.m. The VFW is closed Mondays.

How does the Queen of Hearts game work?

  • A wooden display at the VFW – and posted on the VFW’s website – shows the deck of playing cards in use for the current games, and cards that have not been chosen yet are numbered. Each number has a corresponding envelope.
  • On their tickets, players write their name, phone number and which numbered envelope they’ve guessed is holding the queen of hearts card.
  • The tickets go into a hopper and each Tuesday evening, one ticket is pulled from the thousands bought. If the ticket holder correctly guessed which envelope holds the queen of hearts, they win.
  • If the ticket holder picks any other queen in the deck, or one of the two joker cards, they get 5% of the pot – $74,795 in the next drawing.
  • Even if the queen of hearts is not picked, the ticket holder gets $500 for having their ticket pulled.
  • As of now, there are 25 cards left unopened out of the 54-card deck, includes two joker cards.
  • In addition to the Queen of Hearts game, there is also a 50/50 Blue Raffle each Tuesday. Those tickets are one for $5, three for $10, or eight for $20. The prize money is divided into amounts that do not exceed $500. There may be multiple ticket draws for the 50/50 raffle, and ticket holders do not need to be present to win.

How long has this game been rolling over?

The last winning jackpot, of $2.4 million, was drawn May 9, 2023. The weekly game continued past 54 weeks – the number of cards to chose from – because, if both jokers are picked before the queen of hearts, card a new deck is started.

How big can it get?

After the jackpot shot past $7 million in 2018, the huge crowds and traffic drawn to the post prompted the McHenry City Council to cap the jackpot payout at $3 million, or $6 million total jackpot.

More information

Here is where you can find more on the McHenry VFW’s Queen of Hearts drawing: vfwmchenry.org/queen-of-hearts.

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