Sports
'Is this real?': The Blue Jays' eye-popping 50/50 lotto is changing lives
TORONTO — Thomas can’t remember what he said or heard during a meeting last month.
That’s because only minutes before, he was informed by Sportsnet anchor Evanka Osmak that he had won half a million dollars.
A few days earlier Thomas, who asked to use a pseudonym to preserve his privacy, bought a ticket to the Jays Care 50/50 raffle on a whim after a marketing email landed in his inbox. And then he forgot all about it.
“When you play these things,” he said, “you don’t really anticipate you’re going to win.”
When his phone rang while at work at his IT job on May 13, he nearly rejected the call from a private number. “I’m glad I didn’t,” Thomas said. Instead, he picked up to hear Osmak, the host of Sportsnet Central, inform him that he was the winner of the 50/50 grand prize. She asked if he knew how much he had just won. Thomas responded that he thought $50,000 would be great. “Then she said, ‘Yeah, $50,000 would be great. But it’s actually (CAD) $538,908.’”
Thomas didn’t have long to process his shock. He had to head into a meeting right afterwards.
“I don’t know what I said. I was clearly talking and answering questions, but my mind was completely elsewhere, just thinking, ‘Is this real? Did that just actually happen?’” said Thomas, who had only entered the 50/50 a handful of times prior.
Over the years, the Toronto Blue Jays’ 50/50 raffle has become known for its eye-popping jackpots and life-changing winnings. The jackpots have caught the eyes of many in baseball, including former Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona, who saw the $82,000 total during the 2016 ALCS and told catcher Mike Napoli, “We gotta get in on that.”
The 50/50 raffle, run by Jays Care Foundation, the charitable arm of the Blue Jays, awards half of the ticket sales to a winner, while the other half goes to charity. It has crowned nine millionaires so far. Already the biggest raffle of its kind in Major League Baseball, it strives to set new records every year.
One of those nine millionaires is a man named Andrew. He had just gotten home from the cardiologist when his phone rang. Thankfully, his heart was in good condition when a representative from Jays Care called.
When Andrew answered, he was asked if he received a call earlier that day and was told to check his voicemail. When he did, there was a message from Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez. In his unmistakable raspy voice, Martinez informed Andrew that he was the lucky winner of $2.6 million.
“It was quite an amazing moment,” said Andrew, who asked to be identified only by his first name to protect his privacy.
The win came at an especially opportune moment for Andrew, who said he had been dealing with personal challenges.
“It’s been a very sombre last few years, and it was nice to get some extremely good news,” Andrew said. “And this money would help me do a lot of positive things.”
Andrew, above, initially missed the call informing him that he was a 50/50 winner. (Courtesy of Jays Care)
The introduction of online 50/50 ticket sales across Ontario in 2019 helped expand the raffle’s reach. When the pandemic hit in 2020, and the Blue Jays played their games away from the Rogers Centre, Jays Care pivoted from daily draws to homestand jackpots and mega-jackpots, a move that allowed the pots to grow larger and increased the interest. Together, those changes ushered in an era of massive growth with the Jays Care 50/50, producing the top-10 biggest jackpots in MLB history — all since 2019.
“That’s something we’re extremely proud of,” said Jays Care executive director Robert Witchel. “We want to make our programs the best in class. We want to reach as many kids as possible.”
In 2021, the Jays Care 50/50 recorded $12 million in total tickets sold — with half going to the winners and the other half to the charity. By 2023, total ticket sales were up to $33 million, culminating with an Ontario- and MLB-record jackpot of $5.9 million last September. (Congratulations to Mini from Toronto.)
Already this season, the 50/50 has awarded four grand prize jackpots totaling more than $4.3 million, along with hundreds of early-bird prizes that include signed memorabilia, Blue Jays tickets and smaller cash prizes. Next month’s Canada Day mega-jackpot will award 10 grand prize winners who will evenly split the pot, an idea that came from fan feedback, and will include 157 early-bird prizes to commemorate Canada turning 157 years old.
The BIGGEST Jackpot in MLB history! 🔥
You asked for it @BlueJays fans, and we listened.. For the first time ever, we’ll be evenly splitting our mega jackpot between 10 different winners! Plus, you’ll have 157 chances to win some incredible prizes.🤩
🎟 https://t.co/5chwquqc3r pic.twitter.com/95y8BRUNNj
— Jays Care Foundation (@JaysCare) June 7, 2024
Part of what makes the Jays Care 50/50 stand out is its ambassadors — the red-shirted, eclectic and cheerful employees stationed throughout the Rogers Centre concourse who sell 50/50 tickets until the final out is made.
The ambassadors’ day typically begins a couple of hours before first pitch. In the minutes before the stadium gates open, they gather in a classroom-sized room tucked inside Gate 3. On this Tuesday evening in May, Kelly Woodman, an event manager with the 50/50 team, begins by going over their sales from the previous evening before instructing them on the sales goals for that night’s game.
Finally, before they hit the concourse, it’s time for their cheer.
“50/50!”
Clap clap clap clap clap
“Sell them tickets!”
Clap clap clap clap clap
“Raise that money!”
Clap clap clap clap clap
“Let’s go!”
“They come from all different walks of life,” said Woodman. “It became like a really close-knit family. Everybody knows everybody and their spouses and their kids and their grandkids… They’re just really invested in each other, which is nice.”
Once out on the concourse, the ambassadors spread out. There are 60 this season, but on average, 30 to 40 work each game. Each ambassador develops a unique style for attracting customers. Some are loud and vocal: “50/50 tickets! Come support the Jays Care Foundation!” Others, like Tracey Lung, take a more curated approach.
“I’m really good at reading people,” said Lung, who is in her second year of selling. “How they approach me or whether they’re looking down or looking right at me, I know whether or not I’m going to be trying to sell them on a ticket, they’re going to get a ticket or I can upsell them.”
Before a prospective sale, an ambassador will educate the prospective buyer on the charitable initiatives before running down the various ticket options — 5 for $10, 25 for $25, 100 for $50 or 300 for $125, the best deal and best odds.
Anna Cappuccitti, another ambassador, said there’s a key to being an effective seller. “I’m not afraid of rejection,” she said with a laugh.
In 2023, the ambassadors were responsible for more than $6.7 million in gross ticket sales, a record year. There is friendly competition among the sellers, who track their nightly sales; the ultimate bragging rights belong to whoever sells a jackpot-winning ticket. Cappuccitti has yet to sell a grand prize ticket, but hopes her luck will change.
“People tell me I have this vibe about me, I feel lucky, so they buy from me,” she said. “I always say, ‘Hey, I wish you win. I’ll say a prayer for you.’ I get their names. I write it. I put it in my phone and I’ll say a prayer and they love it.”
No matter their sales tactic, what connects everyone involved in the 50/50 is the cause.
Jays Care is responsible for running programming for marginalized and underprivileged children across Canada, and they’re projected to reach more than 60,000 kids this year. Their programs include initiatives such as Girls At Bat, which is designed to reduce barriers anyone identifying as a girl may face accessing the sport, and Challenger Baseball, an adaptive baseball program for kids living with physical and/or cognitive disabilities to learn the game in a safe and encouraging environment. Jays Care has twice received MLB’s Allan H. Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence and has been named one of the nation’s top 100 charities by Charity Intelligence Canada, a non-profit charity watchdog.
Ten years ago, the 50/50 contributed about 10 percent of the charity’s overall fundraising. Today, the draws are responsible for nearly half of the funds raised, according to Witchel.
And there are plans to keep growing. This year, Jays Care expanded online ticket sales to Nova Scotia after the province’s premier attended a Blue Jays game and remarked on how large the prize was.
“I said, ‘Well, would you like to bring that to Nova Scotia?’ And he was all ears,” Witchel said.
There are legal hurdles to clear, but the eventual hope is that the 50/50 will be open across Canada, which will provide more funding for children nationwide.
There is a unique enthusiasm in Canada for 50/50 raffles, engrained deep in the national DNA. Many Canadians grew up participating in their local hockey rink’s 50/50 raffles. Another potential reason? Canadians are not taxed on their 50/50 winnings.
While raising funds for the charity is Jays Care’s main priority, Witchel said informing the lucky winners of their prize is also rewarding. “We definitely have changed lives,” he said.
Helping people like Andrew and Thomas is a satisfying part of the job for Lung, one of the ticket sellers.
“It’s tough out there. The fact that we can change somebody’s life just by them coming to a game… we’re also helping more kids,” she said. “It’s just this amazing trickle effect.”
Andrew, the jackpot winner from April, has yet to decide what he may want to splurge on — a new set of golf clubs is one idea — but primarily, he’s grateful that he can now prepare better for his retirement.
Thomas, the winner of half a million dollars, isn’t looking to buy a new house or a luxury car. He’s not planning to make an impulse buy. “I wish I had a more entertaining answer for you,” he said when asked what he’d do with the money.
He grew up in Toronto as the son of immigrants. They didn’t have a lot of money, he said, and his parents were careful about their spending. He stressed that he remembers a wonderful childhood, but he strives to give his two children — aged six and nine — more than he had. Beyond using his winnings to invest in their future education and help pay off a mortgage and line of credit, he hopes to spend it on family vacations that will create lasting memories.
“It gives us that peace of mind going forward,” he said. “I think that’s the biggest thing for me. Since (I won), I just felt a little bit more relaxed. It doesn’t change my job. I’m still motivated the same amount at work and with family life. But that overall comfort and peace of mind is great to have.”
(Top Image: Daniel Goldfarb / The Athletic; Photos: iStock)
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Last August, when the NASCAR Cup Series went to the road course at Watkins Glen, Shane van Gisbergen captured the checkered flag.
Now SVG finds himself at the top of the oddsboard to win again when the series goes Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, May 10 (3 p.m. ET, FS1).
Let’s take a look at where the rest of the field sits as of May 10 at DraftKings Sportsbook.
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.
NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at the Glen 2026
Shane van Gisbergen: -135 (bet $10 to win $17.41 total)
Connor Zilisch: +360 (bet $10 to win $46 total)
Christopher Bell: +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)
Tyler Reddick: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Ty Gibbs: +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Chris Buescher: +1800 (bet $10 to win $190 total)
Michael McDowell: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Austin Cindric: +2200 (bet $10 to win $230 total)
Ross Chastain: +2500 (bet $10 to win $260 total)
Chase Elliott: +2500 (bet $10 to win $260 total)
Carson Hocevar: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Ryan Blaney: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Chase Briscoe: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
William Byron: +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
Kyle Larson: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
AJ Allmendinger: +5000 (bet $10 to win $510 total)
Joey Logano: +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total)
Kyle Busch: +7500 (bet $10 to win $760 total)
Denny Hamlin: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Alex Bowman: +9000 (bet $10 to win $910 total)
Daniel Suarez: +9000 (bet $10 to win $910 total)
Brad Keselowski: +10000 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Bubba Wallace: +13000 (bet $10 to win $1,310 total)
Ryan Preece: +30000 (bet $10 to win $3,010 total)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: +35000 (bet $10 to win $3,510 total)
Riley Herbst: +40000 (bet $10 to win $4,010 total)
Austin Dillon: +60000 (bet $10 to win $6,010 total)
Zane Smith: +60000 (bet $10 to win $6,010 total)
John Hunter Nemechek: +60000 (bet $10 to win $6,010 total)
Erik Jones: +60000 (bet $10 to win $6,010 total)
Todd Gilliland: +70000 (bet $10 to win $7,010 total)
Josh Berry: +70000 (bet $10 to win $7,010 total)
Noah Gragson: +80000 (bet $10 to win $8,010 total)
Cole Custer: +80000 (bet $10 to win $8,010 total)
Ty Dillon: +90000 (bet $10 to win $9,010 total)
Katherine Legge: +100000 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Josh Bilicki: +100000 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Cody Ware: +100000 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
The Favorite: Last year at Watkins Glen, Shane van Gisbergen finished eighth in Stage 1, 22nd in Stage 2 and led 38 laps on the day before getting into Victory Lane. And as it stands currently, SVG could use a win; the driver of the No. 97 car hasn’t won yet in 2026. He’s also 19th in the standings. However, he has two top 10s this year and one top-five finish. Bettors also might want to note that van Gisbergen won five of the six NASCAR road courses in 2025 and finished second at COTA earlier this year.
One to Watch: Another driver fans might want to keep their eyes on is Ryan Blaney. At The Glen in 2025, Blaney won the pole, finished seventh in Stage 1, won Stage 2 and finished the race sixth overall after leading 35 laps. On No. 12’s resume so far this year are seven top 10s, three top-five finishes and one win. He’s currently fourth in the standings.
For Sarah Gorden, Mother’s Day is special because it’s not just a celebration of motherhood. For her, it’s also a celebration of perseverance, grit and survival.
Especially survival.
Gorden became pregnant during her junior year of college and for most of the next 12 years, she tried to balance her life as a professional soccer player with her responsibilities as a single mother. It wasn’t easy.
“I honestly look back and I have no idea how we got through that,” said Gorden, who made $8,000 as an NWSL rookie with the Chicago Red Stars in 2016, less than the city’s minimum wage. “We’re making no money. We were definitely using government assistance and government aid. And then the help of family and friends.
“I’m impressed and proud of the part of me that got through that. But it was no way to live.”
As the memories come flooding back, so do the tears.
Angel City midfielder Ariadina Alves Borges walks off the pitch with her son, Luca, at BMO Stadium on May 2.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“It’s so difficult to explain,” said Gorden, now 33 and the captain at Angel City, as she dabbed at the tears with a tissue. “Not having enough money, not having enough time, wondering if I’m being selfish, wondering if I’m making the right decision. Ultimately it came down to: I didn’t feel like I had another [choice].”
A decade later, the NWSL minimum wage is $50,500 and the league’s collective bargaining agreement guarantees mothers job protection, full salary and benefits for the duration of a pregnancy-related absence, stipends for child care and subsidized arrangements for women traveling with children up to age 14.
Angel City, founded by three mothers, has gone beyond what the league has mandated by supporting mothers with perks that include a well-stocked nursery at the team’s training facility on the campus of Cal Lutheran University.
“From the beginning, we always strive to support the whole player. Physically, mentally, emotionally, psychologically,” said Julie Uhrman, one of Angel City’s founders and now a principal adviser to the team. “And then to support them if they came in as parents or became parents. That’s not just players. Staff too.”
Uhrman, who raised two children while building a successful career as a media and entertainment executive, speaks from experience.
“They can do both and they can excel at both,” she said of her players. “And we’re going to provide the support and the environment for them to do that.”
On its active roster of 25 players, Angel City has four mothers — the most in the NWSL. The work that went into the infrastructure now in place for them originated with Sarah Smith, the team’s former director of medical and performance.
Smith, who left the club in January and now advises elite athletes — primarily skiers — in Utah, said the support she got from Uhrman and others during her own pregnancy two and a half years ago inspired and informed her work with Angel City.
“Having the leadership of the club and the female leaders in the club, and then wanting to be able to support all of the players through their different journeys, through motherhood, I was really glad to be part of that,” she said. “But it really started with the fact that I had just gone through it, and I was able to share those experiences.”
Angel City forward Sydney Leroux’s 9-year-old son, Cassius, waits for his mom to leave a team huddle at BMO Stadium on May 2.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The first player she guided through that journey was Scottish forward Claire Emslie, who gave birth to a son in December.
“I’ll be honest. Having seen how much she wanted to do for moms in the game made me excited to become a mom,” Emslie said. “We weren’t even thinking about having a kid. But knowing what she wanted to do if there was a pregnant player made me want to have a kid because I knew that this is the best place I could possibly be.”
Emslie, 32, was cleared to suit up for Angel City’s game with San Diego on Saturday — the day before Mother’s Day — after missing the past 12 months on maternity leave. But she continued to train until just before giving birth and that, combined with the year off from the weekly pounding of professional soccer and the physiological changes her body went through during pregnancy, have made her better, she says.
“I feel better. I’m different,” she said. “I got a lot stronger and that’s something you can’t build while you’re in competition. My speed is back. I think I’m actually faster. And there’s also sort of an effect where you’ve got more red blood cells in your system now. So they say your cardio is actually better.”
The prime years for a women’s soccer player — between the ages of 25 and 29 — overlap with their prime reproductive years. Until recently, however, women had to make a choice between a family and a career. Now many are choosing to do both.
Sophia Wilson, a former NWSL scoring champion and MVP, and Mallory Swanson, her teammate on the U.S. Women’s National Team, both missed play in 2025 to give birth. They are among the 28 mothers in the league, and more are coming with the most recent NWSL availability report showing six teams missing players going on maternity leave.
Angel City player Claire Emslie, who is pregnant, tours a nursery the team built for players.
(Courtesy of Angel City FC)
Emslie’s own experiences tell her those numbers will continue to grow.
“I got to a point where I need[ed] to start thinking about life after football. And if I want to have a family, because of the biological clock, I need to start trying soon,” Emslie said. “It’s now kind of a normal thing to have a baby and come back.”
“Now I wish I’d done it younger,” she added. “Having a baby and continuing to play, they’re on the journey with you. So to have, say, five, six years professional football with a family, that’s amazing.”
Smith believes the willingness of star players such as Wilson and Swanson — and before them, Alex Morgan and Manchester United’s Hannah Blundell — has brought important focus to the issue of motherhood in soccer.
“That is where the game is going. I think you probably can see it across the league, the number of mothers,” Smith said. “And that’s a variety of circumstances. It may be mothers whose partners have carried children. It may be also players that are thinking about having children later and want to freeze their eggs. What I wanted to make sure is that we, we supported all of those different circumstances.”
That included designing and stocking the nursery at the training facility Angel City inherited from the NFL’s Rams in the fall of 2024.
“We put stuff in there for Caiden, for Sarah’s son, because it wasn’t just for Claire,” Smith said. “We wanted to make sure that all of the players and their partners felt good and comfortable. You just want to take a little bit of stress off of the players.”
Angel City captain Sarah Gorden with her oldest son, Caiden, during a photo shoot.
(Courtesy of Angel City FC)
When the club inherited the nine-acre practice facility in 2024 from the Rams, Angel City designated the largest of the offices for the nursery. The office belonged to head coach Sean McVay, and now it features walls painted pink and light blue and a crib, a changing table and a menagerie of stuffed animals.
“We want players to come to Angel City because we are the absolute best place for you to grow as an athlete, as a human,” Uhrman said. “And, you know, thinking about the fact that they might want to become mothers at some time or they’re coming in as mothers is really important.”
Gorden remembers a time not so long ago when that wasn’t the case. Early in her career in Chicago, she said she had to bring her son to a team meeting and was punished by being benched. Another time she couldn’t find child care on the day of a game — a Mother’s Day game.
“I just remember bawling all morning and just feeling so stressed,” she said.
Gorden has a fiance who is helping with parenting and her son Caiden, now in middle school, has grown into a sweet, empathetic boy.
“So yeah,” Gorden said, smiling through the tears, “a lot of progress. The league gets it now.”
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The highly anticipated 30th WNBA season tipped off Friday with three games, including the expansion Toronto Tempo’s first-ever contest.
The action continued Saturday with a full slate, including Caitlin Clark’s return after an injury-riddled sophomore season.
Clark and the Indiana Fever hosted the Dallas Wings on Saturday afternoon in a matchup featuring the four most recent No. 1 overall picks. The Wings outlasted the Fever 107-104, but the game was defined by Azzi Fudd’s — the most recent top pick — underwhelming debut.
Dallas Wings guards Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers react during the first half of the Fever’s season opener at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on May 9, 2026. (Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Fudd played 18 minutes off the bench, scoring three points — the lowest ever by a No. 1 overall pick in a WNBA debut.
Wings coach Jose Fernandez addressed Fudd’s performance after the game, encouraging the rookie to, “Keep doing what she’s doing, it’s her first year in the league. We got five really talented backcourt players.”
EX-WNBA STAR CRITICAL OF SKY ROOKIE HAILEY VAN LITH, BELIEVES POPULARITY PLAYED ROLE IN DRAFT SELECTION
In addition to Fudd, Dallas’ backcourt features last year’s top draft pick Paige Bueckers, last season’s No. 12 overall pick Aziaha James, four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale and starting guard Odyssey Sims.
Until Saturday, Kelsey Plum held the record for the lowest-scoring debut by a No. 1 pick. Selected first overall by the then-San Antonio Stars in 2017, she scored just four points in her debut. The Stars relocated to Las Vegas in 2018 and was subsequently rebranded as the Aces.
Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd warms up before the game against the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 9, 2026. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Despite the slow start to her first season in the league, Plum ended the year with All-Rookie team honors. In the years since, she’s been named to four All-Star teams and won two championships with the Aces.
The Wings’ decision to take Fudd with the No. 1 overall pick drew controversy, raising questions about whether Bueckers’ personal relationship with her influenced the selection. Late last month, Bueckers said last month it did not.
Azzi Fudd poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected first overall by the Dallas Wings during the 2026 WNBA Draft at The Shed in New York City on April 13, 2026. (Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images)
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“Azzi Fudd was the No. 1 draft pick because she earned it, and it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with who she is as a human being, who she is as a basketball player,” Bueckers said, according to ESPN.
Neither Bueckers nor Fudd has publicly updated their relationship status since the April draft.
“Quite frankly, I believe me and Azzi’s personal relationship is nobody’s business but our own,” Bueckers also said in April. “And what we choose to share is completely up to us.”
Next up, the Wings play their home opener on Tuesday when they host the Atlanta Dream.
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