By Stephen Baldwin
RealWV, www.therealwv.com
“A local resident was out in the midwest working in a small town and went into a local bar one night,” recalls Dan Withrow, co-owner of The Sportsman Tavern. “There were 5 or 6 people, like you’d see here. Then the next night, he went back and the place was packed. He asked, ‘What’s going on?’ They told him it was for a fundraiser called Queen of Hearts.”
Now, that game is coming to Ronceverte as a benefit for Gateway Industries, a local nonprofit that provides employment and vocational services to individuals with a variety of physical, cognitive, and/or psychiatric disabilities.
Specifically, it will benefit the construction of their newest project, an 18-hole mini-golf course on Ronceverte Island Park which is slated to open later this year.
To play Queen of Hearts, stop by The Sportsman anytime during the week before Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. Buy a ticket for $2. Or buy as many tickets as you want for the same price! All purchased tickets will be placed in a basket, and one winner will be chosen. That winner then gets to choose a single card on the Queen of Hearts board.
If you choose the Queen of Hearts, you split the jackpot with Gateway. If you choose any numbered card, you get $25. A king or jack nets you $50. Aces get you $75. Jokers bring $125. The minimum jackpot is $1,000 and can grow exponentially over time.
“We played the first game here last week, and a lady got the jackpot on the first try,” Withrow adds. “She won $1,600.”
Withrow says The Sportsman bought a special permit to host the contest with the state, seeing it as a way to give back to an organization that does so much for the local area.
“Gateway has been here for 45 years doing unbelievable work,” he says. “This will help pay for the mini golf, and then their other projects after we raise all those funds.”
The Sportsman Tavern is located on Edgar Avenue in Ronceverte, WV.
(Photo by RealWV)
