The count has been done and the jackpot once again broke all records in the 98-year-old Nenana Ice Classic.

The board of directors announced the record-breaking prize of $363,627 after they concluded their meeting on Thursday night. This year’s jackpot exceeds the previous record-breaking jackpot by roughly $13,000 that was set in 2012. That year, Tommy Lee Waters single-handedly took home a prize of $350,000. Coincidently, the ice went out on April 23, which was Water’s birthday. It was his third win.

In 2013, the prize again bucked the odds and was awarded to a Kenai couple, Warren and Yvonne Snow, for their guess of 2:40 pm, one minute off of the actual time of 2:41 pm May 20th. They took home $318,000 for their guess. That May 20th date was a record for the books as well, being the latest the ice has ever gone out on the river.

While the prize has gone to single winners in the past couple of years, that is generally not the case. Most years, the pot is shared by multiple winners. The record for the most amount of winners was made on May 4th at 11:59 am. 58 people split a pot of $110,000 that year.

It was expected early on in the season that this year would be a record-breaking year for the jackpot, as tickets began running out at several locations in March.

It was also thought that the ice would go out earlier than usual as the ice on the river was snow-free for the past few weeks and the temperatures have been above normal for the time of year. But, that expectation seems to have come and gone as the ice continues to  hold fast. The ice has shown significant signs of rot and has done so for days.

The last measurement taken of the ice occurred on April 14th, when the measurement came in at 36.5 inches which was less than the average thickness. The clock was set on Monday and the watchmen began their watch.

In its 98th year, the classic was started first in 1906 by railroad worker,there were only six entries that year. But, after that year, the betting pool was discontinued for 10 years, before being taken up again by railroad workers with ticket sales at Jimmy Duke’s Roadhouse. That year, tickets could only be had if you were a Nenana resident. It was in 1917 that the betting was expanded to include both the Alaska and Yukon Territories. In 1917, the jackpot was a whopping $801.

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