The hottest ticket in town appears to be that of the Dream Lottery, which for a second time in a row has sold out.
Lottery officials announced Wednesday afternoon that tickets are all gone for the semi-annual sweepstakes in support of the London Health Sciences Centre, Children’s Hospital, and St. Joseph’s Health Care London.
Londoners were warned earlier this week tickets were running low and a sell out was imminent. That realization served as a call to action to last-minute buyers who flooded lottery phone lines, according to Dream Lottery organizer Rita Fieder.
"The urgency that we were selling out certainly plays a role," said Fieder. "We also have beautiful homes. Here in London we have the 'Street of Dreams' and in Bayfield we have 'Bringing the Cottage Back' and I think the product was so wonderful that everybody went through the homes and were dreaming."
Last fall's edition of the lottery sold out by the early bird deadline, two weeks later than the spring sellout.
"This really shows that the community supports the Dream Lottery," said Fieder. "Everyone that buys a ticket is a winner because they are supporting patient care locally right here in our London hospitals."
With the tickets now sold out, the dream homes located at 1452 and 1456 Byron Baseline Rd. in London and 22 Delevan St. in Bayfield have closed to the public.
The 50/50 prize pool has broken a record, exceeding the $1-million mark for the first time in the lottery's history.
Unlimited tickets for the 50/50 draw are available for purchase by Dream Lottery ticket holders until July 5.
The grand prize and 50/50 draws will be made on July 19.
Since launching in 1996, the lottery has raised a net total of over $31.8-million in support of London’s three hospitals.
