St. Louis, Missouri — South County
On Thursday morning, a crane set up on the blacktop at Assumption Parish on Mattis Road and went to work. By the time the parish posted about it, four new heating and air-conditioning systems had been installed in the school. “Out with the old and in with the new!” the post read. People in the comments pointed out the timing: the new systems went in just as it was time to turn on the furnace.
What the Raffle Is For
Assumption has been working to replace more than a dozen aging air-conditioning units across its school and parish buildings, at roughly $100,000 apiece. Its weekly Queen of Hearts raffle has been raising money for that work. Every time the Queen of Hearts is found, the winner takes half of the jackpot and the other half stays with the parish.
Four Queens and a $611,162 Jackpot
Assumption’s online Queen of Hearts began in January 2024. Since then, more than 5,300 people have bought more than $1.15 million in tickets online. The Queen has turned up four times:
- November 2024 — a $177,607 jackpot
- April 2025 — $69,804
- July 2025 — $24,256
- August 2026 — $611,162
That last game ran a full year and 51 drawings. In its final week, supporters bought $115,515 in tickets, and on August 11 the Queen finally came up. Gina T. took home $305,581, the biggest prize in the raffle’s history.
Add up the parish’s half of all four jackpots and it comes to more than $440,000.
Where It Stands Now
A new game started in September. Eight cards have been drawn since, so 46 remain, and the jackpot is a little over $64,000 heading into the next drawing on Tuesday, November 3, at 9 p.m. Tickets are $5. The Queen of Hearts pays half the jackpot, and every other card pays $50 to $250.
Four new units went in on Thursday. The Queen is still out there.
Top photo: a crane lifts equipment at Assumption on Thursday morning. All photos: Assumption Parish and Schools, from the parish’s Facebook page.