Sydney Chase the Ace draw winners split money with lifelong friends

A Cape Breton couple is splitting their Chase the Ace winnings with lifelong friends after picking up nearly $170,000 in the charity draw Saturday night in Sydney. 

Frances Oram and her husband Norman of Hay Cove bought one ticket for themselves and had five others they agreed to split with friends and family if they were drawn. 

In the end, organizers pulled a ticket they had agreed to buy with Cyril and Rhodena MacPhee of St. Peter's. 

"For the four of us to be able to share this together is beyond amazing," Frances Oram told CBC News on Sunday.

"My husband and Cyril and Rhodena have known each other their whole lives. Rhodena and I have been best friends for 23 years. We've had a lot of good stuff happen in life and a lot of bad stuff and this is just the coolest thing."

'Not a loser in the bunch'

In the end the Orams didn't choose the ace of spades — leaving the $899,136 jackpot for another week — but Oram says it didn't dampen the moment. 

"This gives somebody else the opportunity next week to experiences what we got to experience last night. It gives the two charities another week of money they really need for their projects. Everybody won. There's not a loser in the bunch," she said. 

Their friends were in Oak Island Saturday and Cyril MacPhee said they initially didn't believe Frances when she called them on her way to verify her ticket. 

"We thought somebody died because they were both crying," he said. 

Originally, the Orams were supposed to go to Oak Island as well, but when they weren't able to come along, the MacPhees gave them $20 for Chase the Ace. 

A modest celebration

On Sunday night, the Orams hosted their friends for a celebration dinner of soup, tea and a little wine. They also presented the MacPhees with a personal cheque for about $84,000.

"We haven't cashed the cheque yet, hoping it'll go through," MacPhee joked. "We're tied at the dollar bill now." 

"There was never a doubt in our mind they'd keep the agreement," said Rhodena MacPhee, adding everyone was still trying to absorb the shock. 

As for where the money will go, the MacPhees hopes to put some of it in savings and toward helping their family.

"Share it around," said Rhodena MacPhee. 

"We'll probably clear our slate completely of bills and the rest will sit there," Frances Oram said.

"We live here in Cape Breton and you never know what might be happen. I think it'll just sit safely and we'll know it's there in case they need it."

Cyril MacPhee says he is debating a new vehicle. Oram says both she and her husband drive vehicles that are more than 10 years old, so they may end up with "a new rig." 

One thing is for sure, Frances Oram says they never considered backing down on the agreement.

"I truly believe you'd have a lifetime of terrible, terrible luck if you did that," she said. "It was an agreement between lifetime friends — never any question."