Queen of Hearts

2022

After 50 weeks of hibernation the Queen was found Tuesday February 28th. Since 2014, when the raffle began, the Queen has been found 12 times 01. 12/13/14, 02. 04/20/15, 03. 08/21/15, 04. 02/09/16, 05. 10/04/16, 06. 06/08/17, 07. 05/18/18, 08. 12/04/18, 09. 04/30/19, 10. 03/09/21, and 11. 02/28/22. With Spring around the corner, be looking for an announcement from the Godfather when Queen of Hearts Tuesdays will resume. In the meantime, Let’s Go Blues!

2021

QUEEN OF HEARTS RULES AND PROCEDURES: ST LOUIS ELKS LODGE #9

  1. The only persons eligible to buy tickets are Elk Members, their spouses, members of Elks Lodge #9 ladies auxiliary and applicants to Lodge #9 who have completed their application and paid the $100 processing fee, yet are waiting the initiation ritual. Members must be in good standing by being current on their dues and per capita paid. Only one eligible person may be the buyer of any given ticket and that name must be clearly evident as the buyer. That buyer may form or be part of partnerships and consortiums, involving eligible buyers and/or ineligible buyers. Those partners or consortium members may or may not be listed on the ticket, but if so, should be done so as to not render the ticket buyer unidentifiable.
  2. The buyer of a winning ticket may direct the winnings to any place or person of his or her choosing, but the tax consequences regarding the distribution of those winnings will be the sole responsibility of the buyer. All tax forms and notices issued by the Lodge regarding such winnings will be done in the buyer’s name and tax identification number.
  3. 54 cards comprise the game deck; 52 regular playing cards and two jokers.
  4. The Game Board and supplies will be acquired from a licensed lottery dispenser and card-envelopes will be placed on such Board by the designated Raffle Monitor Committee.
  5. Tickets will be sold at the bar except under certain circumstances when the Queen of Hearts’ Committee deems it necessary or convenient to establish a temporary or complimentary selling station away from the bar. The Committee will inform the membership of such a decision according to the time and means available. Single tickets 1 for $5.00, 3 for $10.00 or 8 tickets for $20.00.
  6. Buyers retain one half of the ticket and will write their full name on back of the half ticket with lines to do so (no nicknames or codes) and will also write the number of one of the remaining, unopened card-envelopes on the Game Board on their ticket in case they are not present for the drawing. The ticket(s) is then placed in the designated locked container for the current week’s drawing. If ticket drawn is the wrong half of the ticket used for name information (without blanks), ticket will be disqualified without recourse. In such instance another ticket will be drawn as that night’s winner.
  7. In week one (1) and week twenty-six (26), three (3) tickets will be drawn from all entries that week. In all other weeks of the game, a single ticket will be drawn.
  8. Drawing will be done by an Officer of the Lodge or their designate. The one or three names drawn will each select one card-envelope from the Game Board, selecting in the order they were drawn; if not present, the card-envelope they designated on their entry ticket will be flipped on their behalf. If the person is not present and no number has been pre-written on the ticket, the bartender on duty will then choose a card-envelope for that ticket.
  9. If the Queen of Hearts is not drawn, the card(s) selected will be placed, face up on the board and the game will continue to the following week and the pot will continue to grow.
  10. Each week all remaining tickets from that week’s drawing will be destroyed and new tickets will be sold for the next drawing the following week.
  11. The more cards flipped, the better your odds of winning as the week’s progress!!
  12. PAYOUTS TO WINNERS: Cards numbered #2-8 = $5.00; 10, J, K= $10.00; Aces= $20.00, Jokers and other Queens = $25.00 and #9’s= $40.00. QUEEN OF HEARTS= if drawn & player is present, they get 60% of the announced pot; If the Drawn player is NOT present the winner gets 50% of the pot.
  13. Lodge #9 will retain the remaining portion, either 40% or 50% of the announced pot and monies will be designated to General Funds. $1000 from General Funds will be used to fund the beginning of next QOH raffle/drawing.
  14. Drawing will take place each week in the Lounge at 8:00 pm on Tuesday nights.  Ticket sales will stop five minutes prior to the drawing.
  15. The Board of Directors will have final say on any discrepancies. Rules for the Queen of Hearts Game are subject to change by the Board of Directors at any time and those changes will be posted.
  16. Validation of the winner’s eligibility will be done by the current #9 membership roster and #9 pending Initiate roster on file in the office. If winner is from a Lodge other than #9, eligibility will be determined by showing a current valid Elks membership card or verification by the winner’s Lodge Secretary. If winner is not eligible, the winnings will be invalidated.

Effective date 3/19/18

Spring 2018 as the pot approached $100,000 (we had a $118,000 winner) a parking consultant was hired to manage the South yard