ROCHELLE — The Rochelle VFW Post’s Queen of Hearts contest has reached a record number of $543,740 with nine cards remaining. 

The Queen of Hearts drawing involves 54 cards hidden under a covering to be revealed one card per week until the Queen of Hearts is drawn. There are 52 playing deck cards and two jokers hidden. Players at the local post can purchase tickets in increments of six for $5 and write a number corresponding to a hidden card on the board and their information on them before placing them in a tumbling drum. One ticket is drawn each Tuesday night and the card with the number on the ticket is revealed.

When the Queen of Hearts is drawn, the winner receives 65 percent of the pot. The remaining 35 percent is split between the post and local non-profit organizations. The VFW recently removed an in-person requirement for people to win more due to capacity issues. If a winner is seen Tuesday, they would receive $353,431.

The VFW has seen two recent Queen of Hearts contests go the full 54 weeks and the last had a $335,460 total final jackpot. The current game was started with the ticket sales from the last week of the last game, which was over $100,000. 

“Proportionally, for this round the sales started out slow, but we were still doing pretty well,” VFW Quartermaster Joe Drought said. “Our first 10 weeks we were averaging about $4,600 in ticket sales and we didn't reach that in the previous game until around week 42. Our ticket sales have been up, but we've seen less bar business since we removed the in-person requirement. That's picking up now. Reaching $500,000 is amazing. We've been blessed beyond imagination that it's gotten to this point. If it goes another couple of weeks, I don't even know what we could see for a jackpot amount. The last game went up to about $335,000 and we've totally smoked that number with this.”

VFW Commander Dennis Orlikowski said the current game has gained momentum with each passing week as the Queen of Hearts has remained covered. VFW Club Operations Manager Robin Gounaris said the reaction from the community has been exciting to see. The live stream videos of the drawings each Tuesday night on the VFW’s Facebook page are being viewed over 7,000 times, Gounaris said. 

Drought thanked Gounaris and the VFW’s staff for their work on selling tickets, spreading the word about the contest, and servicing crowds over the past few years. The game’s popularity and ticket entries have grown exponentially in recent years. Drought recalled a previous record years ago of $78,000 for a game that went 54 weeks. 

“I believe social media is why this game has grown and been so supported in recent years,” Gournaris said. “It was never promoted before and was really just done in this bar. This is life-changing money for someone. It's exciting. After the removal of the in-person requirement, it was rough at first. Our numbers went way down. And then the game kept growing and continuing week after week without hitting.”

Over $80,000 will be given away to nonprofits in the community and veterans organizations at the conclusion of the Queen of Hearts, and that number could grow quite a bit more if the game goes on longer. Drought said that is the VFW’s true mission.

“Our goal and primary purpose here isn't just to be a cheap place to have a drink,” Drought said. “We're charged with doing good things in our community, promoting Americanism and doing good things for our veterans. That's the bottom line.”

A portion of the Queen of Hearts funds will also be used to help with the post’s bills and building needs. It’s currently in the midst of flooring improvements and Drought said the leadership of the VFW would like to do facade improvements in the future. 

“We're glad to have the assets available to make the improvements and make this a better place,” Drought said. “Without the community's support and response, we wouldn't be anywhere near this. We appreciate the community's support and that they're coming out. It gives us an opportunity to interact with people as veterans to show them more about what we're doing. We can talk to people about what we're doing with the money.”