# Alaska has an ice lottery **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 14, 2020, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alaska-has-an-ice-lottery/853789 "2020-05-14T14:49:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alaska-has-an-ice-lottery/853789/1 "2020-05-14T14:49:49Z")
They don’t have a regular lottery but anyone can bet when the river ice breaks in the spring. This year it has passed but next year is available to bet. [https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/alaska-ice-lottery-nenana?utm\_source=Atlas+Obscura+Daily+Newsletter&utm\_campaign=ef15cde87a-EMAIL\_CAMPAIGN\_2020\_05\_14&utm\_medium=email&utm\_term=0\_f36db9c480-ef15cde87a-71435681&mc\_cid=ef15cde87a&mc\_eid=0a6addef76](https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/alaska-ice-lottery-nenana?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=ef15cde87a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_05_14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f36db9c480-ef15cde87a-71435681&mc_cid=ef15cde87a&mc_eid=0a6addef76) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alaska-has-an-ice-lottery/853789/2 "2020-05-14T15:16:16Z")
The closest I ever got when I lived in Alaska was 2 days before. Break-up is a big deal in Alaska. It means that Winter is finally over and black fly/mosquito season is here! ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alaska-has-an-ice-lottery/853789/3 "2020-05-14T16:23:18Z")
Ice Out contests are pretty common in places where the rivers and lakes freeze over each winter. This one is a lottery, but many others have similar setups as fundraisers for various groups. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alaska-has-an-ice-lottery/853789/4 "2020-05-14T16:49:48Z")
When I lived in Minnesota, there was a lake where a junker car got parked on the ice during the winter; people could place bets on the date at which the car would fall through the ice. Presumably some of the funds collected by the organizers were set aside for recovering the car from the water. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alaska-has-an-ice-lottery/853789/5 "2020-05-14T17:17:20Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > When I lived in Minnesota, there was a lake where a junker car got parked on the ice during the winter; people could place bets on the date at which the car would fall through the ice. Presumably some of the funds collected by the organizers were set aside for recovering the car from the water. That’s the way they did it in Lake Wobegon, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alaska-has-an-ice-lottery/853789/6 "2020-05-14T18:48:35Z")
This subject was the central premise of my favorite episode of _Northern Exposure_. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alaska-has-an-ice-lottery/853789/7 "2020-05-14T19:29:40Z")
> [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > This subject was the central premise of my favorite episode of _Northern Exposure_. Not to mention a significant plot point in _American Gods_. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alaska-has-an-ice-lottery/853789/8 "2020-05-14T21:18:36Z")
As noted in the link, it’s called the Nenana Ice Classic (nee-nah’-nuh) after the town of Nenana. They put a tripod on the Tanana River (tah’-nuh-naw) ice that’s linked to a clock. When the tripod heads downstream, it stops the clock. I knew that it has been going on since before my birth, but wasn’t aware that it dates back to 1917. I’m also old enough to remember when slot machines were legal in Alaska, and even pinball machines paid off. Then came statehood, which meant they had to play by federal rules. Religious groups have kept gambling from coming back. Note that the “nah” and the “tah” are pronounced like “baa”, with a short ‘a’. ---
**Author:** ![ASGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@ASGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alaska-has-an-ice-lottery/853789/9 "2020-05-15T12:24:57Z")
Dana Stabenow would be proud.