The 2016 Kinsmen Dream Home is open on Christmas Eve, from 1 to 5 p.m., for last-minute Christmas shoppers.
Winners of the home, worth $741,930, and the 50/50 draw won’t get their hands on prizes until after the Dec. 31 draws. But finding a ticket under the tree will help Red Deer Kinsmen fund community programs and organizations.
Craig Smallwood, Dream Home chair, said last year the house wasn’t open on Dec. 24 and a lot of people were disappointed.
“We’re open this year,” Smallwood said about the Dream Home, located at 45 Larratt Close.
Next week the house will be open Tuesday to Friday, from 1 to 5 p.m., and on New Year’s Eve from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
He said the last week before the draws is always busy for ticket sales. Last year about one third of tickets were sold in the last four days.
So far 8,466 out of 19,500 Dream Home tickets are sold. A total of 40,130 tickets are sold for the 50/50 draw so the total prize pool is $154,925. The winner gets half. The maximum payout for lucky winner of the 50/50 is $125,000 if all the tickets are sold.
Smallwood said the odds of winning the Red Deer Kinsmen Dream Home is much better than many Dream Home lotteries in bigger cities. Plus the Red Deer home isn’t much smaller than those other Dream Homes.
This year the Red Deer grand prize winner can either take the home or walk away with $500,000.
Dream Home tickets are available one for $100, three for $250 and five for $375. Tickets for the 50/50 draw are five for $25 and 15 for $50.
Tickets can also be purchased by calling 403-356-3900, or online at https://reddeerkinsmen.com/dream-home-lottery.
Proceeds from the Dream Home lottery funds local projects and programs run by different agencies and community groups. Money from the 50/50 draw will go to Red Deer Food Bank and Habitat for Humanity Red Deer Region.