The crowd at Outsider tavern spilled onto the Monroe County Courthouse lawn as the $114,578 jackpot for its popular Queen of Hearts drawing went unclaimed for another week.

That massive turnout every Tuesday evening has allowed the fundraiser for Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic School in Waterloo to grow as tremendously as it has in recent weeks.

Drawings take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Outsider, 104 S. Market Street. Tickets are available at the tavern throughout the week with sales closing at 6:30 p.m.

A number is chosen randomly at 7 p.m. If the individual whose number is chosen is present, they decide to either stick with the number on their ticket or another numbered card on the board, at which point the card is revealed.

If the individual is not present, their pre-picked card number is revealed, though they would only receive half the pot if the Queen of Hearts should be drawn.

According to Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic School Principal Lori Matzenbacher, the first Queen of Hearts drawing for the school began in November 2017 at Stubborn German Brewing.

Since then, support for the drawing has grown tremendously, resulting in what is now a record jackpot.

“It is the biggest the pot has ever gotten that we’ve had here at Ss. Peter & Paul,” Matzenbacher said. “We had to quit having it during COVID, and so I feel like whenever we restarted, things really ramped up.”

Matzenbacher said the week before the drawing on Aug. 16 saw a $9,000 increase to the pot for a total of $101,000 that week.

Funds from the drawing are split 20/80, with 20 percent of sales going toward general school funding and the rest contributing to the drawing’s pot.

The school also receives half of the funds from a 50/50 raffle also held every Tuesday evening.

The substantial support of the drawing has allowed it to reach its status as the school’s second biggest fundraiser, second only to the SPPCS Spring Gala.

“We are extremely pleased with, y’know, the way the pot has been growing and the participation,” Matzenbacher said. “We’ve had a lot of new registrants since starting this new round of Queen of Hearts with Outsider, and the pot has been growing extremely well.”

Other area Queen of Hearts games are also doing well.

The Dupo Booster Club has started its own Queen of Hearts drawing also taking place Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at 5th Street Billiards Bar & Grill.

The booster club, which was created just last year, began its drawing as a fundraiser for school athletics in the village.

“We’re just looking for ways to get the community out, and people from outside the community to come in and help us raise money for our kids,” Bennett said.

That pot currently stands at over $10,000, with a 50/50 raffle also held Tuesday evenings.

Another Queen of Hearts drawing is also taking place organized by American Legion Post 581 in Columbia. Drawings take place Wednesdays from 5-7 p.m.