drhunt said:
I was not aware that you could enter multiple times. I hate to tell everyone this but the individual that won my current plane (99 Archer) in Flying Magazine's giveaway submitted 3000 entries! That was $1K in postage then and a whole lot of time writing/mailing. The US Postal Service will now send customized postcards from electronic submissions so maybe if AOPA accepts "suitable substitute" entries, you could send USPS the e-form, AOPA's address and a whole lot of $$$ and they could fire off a bunch of entries for you
Good luck to everyone. I guess my odds are up by way of already being an owner. If I won, I'd have say that I'd probably part with my beautiful, sweet, reliable, still nearly new Archer as a "turbo" Commander would be a plus in my area with 13K MEAs in all directions.
Anyone having a sweepstakes by law must provide an entry form. Sometimes that entry form is in a magazine or mailed separately or you must sendSASE with written request. I don't remember if a facsimile of the entry form is accepted, it's a state thing so check your state.
There is a lot of other stuff in how to improve you chance of winning in a sweepstakes but basically it is multiple entries which does it. To prohibit non-members from entering is exclusionary, therefore, prohibited. The host may include certain criteria (EX: must be at least student pilot before entering)
So you're competing for the grand prize not just against the AOPA membership but anyone who meets any criteria they (AOPA or their agents) have established AND all the multiple entries of everyone who plays that game.
If I were serious about winning I would figure on spending several thousands of dollars on entries. I would not be surprised if more than a few folks spend tens of thousands of dollars on multiple entries. It's the dark little secret of any sweepstakes and it is perfectly legit.
FYI
TRIVIA
I did a quick google search and came up MT.
IIRC, current sweepstake regs originated after an amazing lawsuit brought against Coca-Cola by a group of college students (I want to say Cal Tech, but maybe it was MIT) in the mid- to late '70s.
Coca-Cola (maybe it was McDonalds) held a sweepstakes in which the grand prize was a Harrier jet. The college students found there was no law to prevent them from photocopying the official entry form. I think it was over 10,000 entries the students submitted. And since there was no law to prevent it, they sent all the entries under one postage.
C-C cried foul. Their defence was pretty comical and as the trial progressed more and more of America was rooting for the little guy, ie, the students. First, C-C said it wasn't fair of the students to send so many entries. But no law had broken. Then C-C said it had to be one entry per envelope. Again, no law was broken and such instructions were not included on the entry form. I seem to remember C-C also said the USPS acted in collusion with the students to commit fraud.
Later, C-C tried to laugh it all off as a big joke. They argued everyone and their brother (except the college students, that is) knew there was no way a civilian would get their hands on a Harrier. The rebuttal was if the Harrier wasn't the prize then what was? And there must have been a winner (as yet unnamed) so was it the students? Or was C-C committing a fraudulent sweepstakes?
The case was settled for a high six figure amount.
DISCLAIMER: as evidenced from certain posts of mine of the last few months it seems my memory is shot to hell. The reader is reminded that the above may or may not be entirely or partially true and therefore yours truly shall not be held accountable for the veracity, or lack thereof, of the above. However, it does derive from a true event and it is a good story.
