Morris VFW Queen of Hearts prize reaches $1M

Five dollars bought a chance to win more than $1 million at the Morris Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6049 on Monday.

The pot for the Queen of Hearts drawing at the Morris VFW has reached $1 million for the second time this year and the third time overall. The winner will take 70 percent of the pot, and the VFW and auxiliary will take 30 percent.

Morris VFW bar manager Shanna Ramsey said in order to win the Queen of Hearts game, a contestant must buy a raffle ticket and write what position he or she believes the queen of hearts is on the board. If the contestant’s name is drawn during the weekly drawing Mondays, and his or her guess was correct, he or she wins the pot. If the guess is incorrect, the pot grows for next week.

The VFW Auxiliary consists of family members of veterans, while the VFW Post consists of veterans themselves.

As of the Monday drawing, the pot reached $1,008,764, according to the Morris VFW Post 6049 Facebook page.

Tickets are now $5 each – instead of the old deal of $5 for six tickets – in order to limit confusion and the sheer number of tickets, according to a frequently asked questions sheet available at the post. Also, the times during the week when tickets are available have been shortened to reduce crowd size.

Ramsey said she hasn’t seen large crowds yet, but expects that to change soon.

“We haven’t really noticed [crowds] yet, but we’ll probably get a lot in the next couple weeks,” Ramsey said.

Ramsey said that of the VFW’s take, 10 percent goes to the VFW, 5 percent goes to the auxiliary, and 15 percent goes to start the next pot. The VFW post and auxiliary use their share for improvements to the building, supporting veterans and donating to local charities.

“The raffle has affected our finances quite a bit,” said Jim Maskel, treasurer of the VFW Auxiliary and raffle manager. “There was talk a few years back of shutting the post down, but now we’re doing pretty well.”

Maskel said that in recent years, the VFW has been able to refurbish many rooms within the building, pave a new parking lot and install a new electric sign. The need for the electric sign is what convinced the VFW to start raffling six years ago.

Maskel also said the VFW has donated to 33 organizations and charities in 2018, up from 20 in 2017. Recipients include Operation St. Nick, PADS, Honor Flight Chicago and Morris and Minooka high schools, where the VFW has established scholarships.

In the future, the VFW is looking to finish remodeling its building’s flooring and lighting, Maskel said.

Tickets can be bought at the VFW Hall, located at 309 McKinley St., from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and noon to 5 p.m. Mondays.