The Queen of HeARTS draw administered by Raue Center for the Arts, is a raffle licensed by the Illinois/City of Crystal Lake where individuals purchase ticket(s) for the opportunity to win 50% of the total money raised through the sale of Queen of Hearts tickets. 

Weekly raffle tickets are sold online between 12:01 AM Wednesday and 6:00PM the next Tuesday. During purchase, participants will choose a “card envelope” from the available numbered envelopes on the Raue Center’s Queen of Hearts Board.  Each of these envelopes contains a concealed card from a standard deck of playing cards (52 cards and two jokers). The goal is to find the concealed Queen of HeARTS card.

In a two-step process after raffle ticket sales close, a single ticket number is drawn from the week’s ticket sales.  After this ticket has been drawn, the specific numbered envelope indicated on the ticket (done at the time of purchase) is revealed in a live-streamed event at 7:30 that evening.   If the numbered envelope selected contains the Queen of HeARTS card, the winner receives 50% of the total money raised.  If the card envelope contains any other card, the jackpot rolls over into the next week, all previous weeks’ raffle ticket numbers are rendered null, and raffle sales begin afresh. 

Raue Center holds a 12 month license from the City of Crystal Lake to conduct this progressive Queen of HeARTS raffle.  In the event that the Queen of Hearts is found before the end of the term year, one or more Queen of HeARTS raffles may be initiated by Raue Center with the stipulation that any subsequent Queen of HeARTS raffles must conclude by the end of the license term (October 10th, 2021).  If a Queen of HeARTS raffle is active during the final week of the licensed term, Raue Center will engage a special “Sudden Death Drawing”, in which chances shall be drawn until the winning envelope is opened and the Queen of HeARTS revealed.

In addition, raffle license terms require that the maximum aggregate retail value of the Queen of HeARTS prize (half the pot) shall not exceed $250,000.  In the event that the aggregate total of ticket sales grows to $500,000, any further ticket sales shall be stopped, and Raue Center will engage in a special “Sudden Death Drawing” for that week, in which chances shall be drawn until the winning envelope is opened and the Queen of HeARTS revealed.

The other 50% of the proceeds raised supports Raue Center for the Arts and their education programs, Raue Center School For The Arts and Mission Imagination. To learn more about Raue Center for the Arts and our programs, please visit www.rauecenter.org

If you meet the following criteria, you are eligible to purchase Queen of HeARTS draw tickets:

• Must be 18 years of age or older at the time of purchase.
• A resident of the state of IL.

Must not be one of the following:

• Full-time, part-time, or intern of Raue Center for the Arts
• An employee of Illinois or McHenry County
• An employee of the supplier of the Raffle Software who are involved with the development and/or support of the Queen of Hearts System
• Such other persons designated from time to time as Related Parties by Raue Center for the Arts

Note: Prior to the purchase of a ticket online, you will be required to verify your eligibility and that the information is complete and accurate. Ticket purchases deemed ineligible for any of the above reasons are non-refundable.

Yes. You can purchase multiple tickets per event or game.  

The odds of winning the prize are based on the number of tickets sold and the number of card envelopes remaining on the Queen of HeARTS board.

A unique winning number is randomly generated and issued by the Raffle Software out of the numbers purchased for that particular draw. The mechanism for selecting the winning number is a computer-based random number generator that has been certified.  After the number has been drawn its eligibility is verified by Raue Center staff in accordance restrictions imposed by the City of Crystal Lake and the State of Illinois.

Queen of HeARTS Ticket Sales close at 6pm on Tuesdays. Once the winning Queen of HeARTS number has been drawn and its eligibility verified, you can find it and the prize amount:

• Revealed LIVE on Tuesdays at 7:30 pm at www.rauecenterqueenofhearts.org
• Winning results can be viewed throughout the week at rauecenterqueenofhearts.org

If you have the winning Queen of HeARTS number from an online sale, please contact Billy Seger at bseger@rauecenter.org. You must complete the required winner claimant documents in person at Raue Center for the Arts’ Box Office located at 26 N. Williams Street within three (3) weeks of the draw date or to our volunteer.
**Due to COVID-19 restrictions all winners MUST make an appointment to come into the Box Office.

The winner will then be paid by check within three (3) weeks of the claim date. You must present your winning ticket and the text message/email of your online winning ticket, along with two (2) forms of identification (must be a government-issued photo ID). The winning ticket cannot be tampered with (Raue Center for the Arts reserves the right to deny winnings if the ticket has been reproduced or changed from its original state).

**Online ticket sales must be claimed by the individual named in the original purchase transaction. Raue Center for the Arts is not responsible for any division of the winning prize amount to any other party other than the individual named in the original purchase transaction.

Prize winnings will be paid by check within 30 days of the completion of the claim process.

Yes.  You must be a resident of Illinois to be eligible to win the Raue Center Queen of HeARTS Raffle.  In addition, you must be physically able to claim your winnings at Raue Center for the Arts’ Box Office located at 26 N. Williams Street, Crystal Lake, IL 60014

The Raffle Software utilized by Raue Center’s Queen of HeARTS accepts the following payment types: Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.

If you purchased your Queen of HeARTS ticket but did not receive your numbers, please check your junk or spam folders in the event it was flagged by your email provider. If you still do not have your Queen of HeARTS ticket, contact Billy Seger at bseger@rauecenter.org and our staff will resend your raffle numbers (some verification may be required). If your transaction is completed successfully, your numbers will still be part of the draw.

Raue Center for the Arts promotes responsible gaming at all times. If you are looking for help or advice about problem gambling, please visit: www.icpg.info or contact the Illinois Problem Gambling Help Line / Free Health Services Information at 800.522.4700.

For all other issues relating to the Queen of HeARTS drawing, please contact bseger@rauecenter.org

Raue Center reserves the right to suspend or pause the raffle due to Act of God, Civil Authority.   In the unlikely event that we do need to pause or suspend the raffle, please consult this page for the official notice.

For all other issues relating to the Queen of HeARTS drawing, please contact bseger@rauecenter.org