Sarah Mooney never dreamed that one of her pet phrases would serve as foreshadowing.
When asked for the spelling of her surname, she routinely replies: “I always say it’s ‘Money’ with an extra ‘o.’ ”
That was long before she won a lot of money — $607,345 — in the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation 50/50 draw (presented by ISC) on Sept. 1.
The official presentation was made on Monday afternoon to Mooney, her husband (Jordan) and their two children (Rhett, 7, and Brock, 3).
“The giant cheque is pretty cool,” Sarah said. “I know my little guy really wants to steal it.
“Somebody’s getting rich, but it might not be me.”
Sarah and Jordan, who reside in Saskatoon, both purchased 50/50 tickets on the day of the 59th Labour Day Classic.
“We were driving to the game, because my husband has season tickets,” Sarah recalled. “We stopped for gas and my husband stopped for lottery tickets.
“I said, ‘You’d have a better chance of winning the 50/50 at the Roughrider game,’ so I bought a ticket online while we were driving down.”
Once the family arrived at Mosaic Stadium, Jordan bought 50/50 tickets on-site.
“We drove back to Saskatoon the same night,” Sarah said. “I think we got back around 11 or 11:30 and, not long after that, my husband started getting ‘congratulations!’ texts.
“He said, ‘What did we do today?’ And then he asked, ‘Did you ever check your tickets?’ Then I went online, saw my name, and thought, ‘I don’t know. Maybe there’s two Sarah Mooneys.’ Jordan said, ‘No, not if your numbers match those numbers.’ ”
Sure enough …
“Jordan was holding our youngest and our oldest was just getting to bed,” Sarah continued. “I started screeching like a mad lady and woke up the youngest.
“He didn’t know what he was cheering about, but he could see us cheering, so he went, ‘Whooo!’
“Then the oldest started screaming, ‘Nintendo Switch! Nintendo Switch!’ ”
The Nintendo conversation is another example of Sarah’s prescience leading up to the game.
En route to Regina, she had the following conversation with her seven-year-old son:
Rhett: “Do you win money if you win the 50-50?”
Sarah: “Yeah.”
Rhett: “A lot?”
Sarah: “A fair bit, I think.”
Rhett: “Could you buy Nintendo game pieces?”
Sarah: “You could probably buy two.”
“Now that’s going to have to be our first big splurge — a Nintendo Switch — because he’s got it in a contract, essentially,” Sarah said with a laugh.
There will, of course, be other expenditures.
“Instantly, we were like, ‘We can pay off our mortgage,’ ” Sarah said. “Also, because I have just opened a business, there is huge overhead. You have a lot of hidden expenses that are a lot of weight on your shoulders.
“I was thinking, ‘If we can get ahead of that, we can offer more for our business.’ ”
Sarah, who is in her 11th year as a veterinary technician, is a co-owner of Bridge City Veterinary Rehabilitation. The new clinic was established in partnership with a veterinarian, Dr. Christina Meschkat.
With a fledgling business as part of the equation, the timing of the 50/50 win was purrfect.
“We’re one of basically three clinics that offers rehab in the province,“ Sarah noted. “We just opened in May.
“In Saskatoon alone, there’s about a seven-month wait list to get in with them. So if you have post-op care or you’re dealing with arthritis or those needs where they require rehab, waiting seven months isn’t really an option.
“That’s kind of what drove us to do this. Now we have the means to get more equipment, further our education, add more staff and all of that.
“It’s going to be huge.”
Much like the 50/50 jackpot — the largest non-Grey Cup total in Roughriders history.
Proceeds from all 50/50 draws throughout the CFL season are used by the Roughrider Foundation to directly benefit amateur football in Saskatchewan.
The grand-prize winners also reap the rewards.
“Congratulations to Sarah Mooney and her family on their exciting 50/50 jackpot win,” ISC President-CEO Shawn Peters said.
“As the largest regular-season jackpot in CFL history, this fundraiser not only benefits deserving families like the Mooneys, but also makes meaningful contributions to programs that support the well-being and future of young people in Saskatchewan.
“As the presenting sponsor of the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation 50/50, ISC takes pride in giving back to the communities where we live, work and play.”
Total revenues from Sept. 1 were $1,214,690, with the prize winner receiving half that amount.
The previous Roughrider Foundation record ($1,371,332) was set at the 2022 Grey Cup Game, held at Mosaic Stadium.
To illustrate how quickly the popularity of the draw has soared, this year’s take home winnings exceeded the 2023 haul by an eye-popping $339,000 – an increase of 126 percent.
So, yes, it was a sound idea for Sarah to purchase $50 worth of 50/50 tickets while occupying the passenger suit during the drive to Regina.
“No matter who the winner is, they’re deserving, but you want it to be somebody whose life is really going to be changed,” she said. “It’s definitely going to do that for us.
“It’s enough money that we can change how we do things and the stress level, which is huge.”
One thing will not change.
“We’re still going to come to all the games,” she stated, “and we’re still buying 50-50 tickets.”
That declaration was made a few minutes after the Mooneys received the cheque at the Roughriders’ business office.
“Our next stop,” Sarah concluded, “is the bank.”
