Fairbanks

12 winners share jackpot in Nenana Ice Classic

NENANA — The 12 winners of this year’s Nenana Ice Classic will get equal shares of the jackpot in Alaska’s favorite guessing game, an official said Tuesday.

Each ticket holder correctly guessed the ice would go out 12:50 p.m. on Friday, April 30, said ice classic manager Cherrie Forness.

The ticket holders will each get $19,465.92 for guessing the exact time when the ice would move enough to trigger a mechanism that stops a clock inside a tripod set up on the Tanana River.

There were three winners from Anchorage, and two people purchased their tickets from the ice classic office in Nenana. The other winners were single tickets purchased in Juneau, Sitka, Fairbanks, North Pole, King Salmon, Wasilla and Palmer.

Not every winner has been contacted yet.

The event began in 1917 as a bet among railroad engineers waiting for river ice to break up. It has paid out more than $14 million in its history.

Nenana is located about 55 miles southwest of Fairbanks in Interior Alaska.

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