Barry Dyngles Pub's $700K jackpot draws ‘madness’

Staff report

AUSTINTOWN

All day Tuesday, Mahoning Valley residents lined up at Barry Dyngles Pub for the chance to win the more than $700,000 jackpot in the Queen of Hearts game.

Pub management expect about 10,000 people at the 8 p.m. drawing tonight.

The winner of the full jackpot must have their ticket pulled and accurately pick the right card for the elusive Queen of Hearts on a board full of cards.

The game at the local restaurant at 1601 S. Raccoon Road has evolved as the 54-card board has dwindled down to nine spots remaining.

People can buy tickets for $1 each, and must write the number they think will be selected, their name and a phone number where they can be reached on each one. If the owner of the ticket pulled is not there, and the Queen of Hearts is pulled, that person would receive half the jackpot.

“It’s going to be a mad house,” said Rich Berry of Austintown, while waiting in line Tuesday to buy 40 tickets. This is his first time entering the drawing.

“I watched the madness going on [the past few weeks],” he said. “I then decided it was my time to try.”

He added that the drawing has brought attention to Austintown for the right thing for once.

While Berry would quit his job if he won the jackpot, James Czerniak of Newton Falls said he would use it to help pay his two sons’ college tuition.

The other three queens, already selected, paid out 10 percent of the jackpot, and the two jokers paid out 20 percent.

Business has been booming for the local restaurant, said Doug Duganne, Dyngles’ general manager.

“It’s been wonderful,” he said.

“We’re a packed house open to close.”

Duganne said the restaurant has received its liquor permit to continue selling outdoor alcoholic beverages. “We’re good to go,” he said.

The drawing will take place near the restaurant’s side patio. In addition to the public-address system, restaurant officials will use social media platforms - Facebook, Instagram and Twitter - to post a picture of the selected ticket to help those in the far back.

The business was approached by local gaming operator Nannicola Inc., which its website said is one the largest distributors of charitable gaming and fundraising products in the United States. Duganne said the jackpot, which could go up to $750,000 by tonight, is the largest in the country.

He said he’s aware of the oncoming traffic and the safety issue it poses. He’s hired eight off-duty police officers and said that Austintown police have rearranged their schedules to accommodate the crowds tonight.

State taxes kick in at $600 and federal taxes begin at $1,200 and those combined are 29 percent of the total amount.