Milford Man Wins WildJoker Raffle

The WildJoker Raffle is gaining in popularity.

After declaring their first winner, Pat Carter, fundraising chairperson for the Huron Valley Optimist Club, said the pot has been reset and the games continue at the Comeback Inn in Highland.

“It’s really hard to tell people what it is,” Carter said of the progressive raffle idea that is in its first year with the Huron Valley group. “But as soon as they see it, and when they see the board, they say, oh it’s really simple.”

The simple idea that is complicated to explain starts with 54 cards, including the two jokers, with one labeled as a wild joker, according to Carter. All the cards are then mixed up and divided into sealed, numbered envelopes and then placed in a locked display box.

During the weekly drawing, a ticket stub from a sold raffle ticket is pulled and the winner gets to claim one of the available envelopes off the board. The trick is to find the hidden wild joker card, which guarantees you half the pot.

Lyle Taylor, a Milford area resident, won the first jackpot and, according to Carter, has donated $2,000 of his winnings towards the new pot.

The Optimist Club and Rotary Club will split the other half of the winning jackpot, with a portion going to the Comeback Inn as well.

Every Thursday night, starting at 5 p.m., members from both the Rotary Club and Optimist Club are at the Comeback Inn selling raffle tickets for $1 and the drawing takes place at 9:30 pm. Tickets are also available online, however, or can be purchased at any time during the week at the Comeback Inn. You do not have to be present at the time of drawing to win.