50/50 raffle returning to McHenry VFW Post 4600

The highly anticipated Queen of Hearts drawing still is months away, but the McHenry Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4600 soon will bring back its popular 50/50 raffle.

“It’s been slower since the Queen of Hearts ended, but that’s fine,” Cmdr. Dwane Lungren said.

He said the local nonprofit could begin hosting the 50/50 raffle in mid-November. Although the 50/50 raffle is nowhere near as popular – or large – as the multimillion-dollar Queen of Hearts drawing, Lungren said it will wet appetites until the Queen of Hearts drawing returns to the post, located off Route 120 in McHenry, in May.

“The number of [50/50] raffle winners depends on the number of people who play each week,” Lungren said, adding that VFW employees are happy to have a breather before the Queen of Hearts drawing starts up again with huge crowds, new payout rules and a pot starting at more than $3.4 million. The new rules, prices and times for both games have not been finalized.

Lungren said the most a 50/50 raffle winner can win is about $500, which means winners don’t need to pay taxes on the winnings.

The Queen of Hearts drawing originally was set to start again in January, but organizers feared residents would wait in lines to buy tickets in freezing temperatures and impede traffic safety.

The VFW is using the money it made in the Queen of Hearts pot to spruce up its building, which is in need of an asphalt parking lot, interior renovations and electrical repairs.

“We’ve got until the middle of December until they shut down the asphalt plants,” Lungren said.