THUNDER BAY — When the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation launched its 50/50 draw last January, president and CEO Glenn Craig quietly hoped for a jackpot topping $100,000.
As it turned out, with an extended ticket sales period of six weeks, the jackpot for the first draw ballooned to about $966,000.
That figure wasn't achieved again until Wednesday afternoon, and by the evening the prize for the upcoming New Year's Eve draw had climbed well past a million dollars.
"It's unbelievable. We're overwhelmed by the support," Craig said.
One measure of the lottery's success is a similar 50/50 held monthly by the Health Sciences North Foundation in Sudbury.
The nickel city area has a much larger population than Thunder Bay, but as of Wednesday its hospital jackpot was only half the size – $460,000.
The seven-figure prize for TBR Health Sciences Foundation's Dec. 31 draw is "beyond scale," Craig said.
He acknowledged that many people are buying tickets for Christmas presents, but said the support throughout the year also reflects the region's recognition of the importance of local access to high-level health care.
"You go into the community and it's hard to find somebody that hasn't used the services of Thunder Bay Regional for one thing or another. I think we've been able to demonstrate the impact of the support."
The draw for the next early bird prize is Fri. Dec. 17.
There's a bonus early bird prize of $10,000 with a draw date of Dec. 29.
The grand prize will be awarded on New Year's Eve.
Tickets can be purchased online.
