After a two-week back-to-back drawdown that awarded over $250,000 to two lucky recipients, the Queen of Hearts drawing in support of Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic School in Waterloo is taking a month-long break before returning following the upcoming primary election.

As reported last week, last Tuesday’s game saw a drawdown with a brand new board as half of a $500,000 jackpot remained due to the absence of the Jan. 30 winner.

Though the game could have stretched late into the evening with 54 available cards to choose from, the drawing ended relatively quickly with only eight cards drawn.

That final card was drawn by local resident Barb Gotto, among the earlier participants in the game with ticket number 2,966 – those who joined the game more recently have numbers upward of 10,000.

With a still wide open board, Gotto selected No. 30, with event volunteers cutting it open to reveal the queen.

Gotto said she’s lived in Waterloo for 28 years, is a member of Ss. Peter & Paul Parish and works in a clinic at Washington University.

Shortly after the reveal, the Republic-Times briefly interviewed Gotto. At the time, she said she had simply chosen card No. 30 at random. When speaking several days after the initial rush of winning had passed, she noted she made the decision based on the age of her eldest son.

Regarding what she plans to do with her winnings totalling $276,989, Gotto plans to stay responsible, with just a brief splurge in the near future.

In specific, she’d like to go on a nice vacation sometime soon, also paying off any troublesome bills while tucking the rest away for her retirement several years down the line.

Gotto said she’s long enjoyed participating in the game regularly, and she expects to continue playing into the future given how much fun she has among the crowd each week.

“I still can’t believe that it happened,” Gotto said. “I love going there and playing that on Tuesday nights… I’ve been going for a long time, just mingling with people and having a good time… It’s just something that I enjoy doing.”

As previously noted, Gotto was the second Queen of Hearts winner recently, with Outsider regular Tim Meehan taking home the other half of the $554,508 jackpot the prior week.

The game is set to continue with a new board and reset pot – with an ultimate Diocese-imposed cap of $250,000 – in a month. Tickets go on sale starting March 20, and the first drawing will take place March 26.

While the game’s jackpot is able to grow and funds are gathered for SPPCS thanks to the participation of those in the crowd every Tuesday, the game wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the many volunteers selling tickets through the week or helping things run smoothly.

Among those volunteers is Steve Mitchell, who said he first started volunteering a while back because he simply wanted to help out the school.

“I’ve been working it for two years,” Mitchell said. “Every Tuesday I sell tickets, and I think it’s a great thing for the community. It’s just been fantastic for every business and everything in the town – not to mention what it’s done for the school.”

Mitchell further noted he’s had exceptionally positive experiences working the fundraiser, meeting a tremendous number of folks buying tickets. He added that he hasn’t had a bad encounter with folks at the Queen of Hearts game, with everyone being nice and friendly.

Ron Dane has similarly dedicated his time to the SPPCS fundraiser, though he’s been doing so for years, starting back when the game was still played at Stubborn German Brewing Co.

Dane said he and his wife got involved with the game given the family’s ties to the school. Dane’s daughter works as a teacher, and his wife, kids and grandchildren have all attended SPPCS.

Dane spoke very positively about the Queen of Hearts game and the impact he feels it’s had in Waterloo.

“It’s just tremendous,” Dane said. “With everything going on in town, just about every restaurant and bar in town Tuesday are occupied with people waiting for 7 p.m. to roll around so they can come over to the drawing. I think it’s a good turnout for the community as a whole.”

Dane also echoed Mitchell’s sentiment about the overall volunteer experience being quite positive.

“Everybody’s been very, very friendly,” Dane said. “There’s been no issues or anything. It’s just good. Heck, we’ve made friends by selling tickets on Sunday morning… We’ve really enjoyed it, the wife and I.”