have you ever won anything?

[stomachmonkey]

Bunch of years back, late 80's, one of the big NY radio stations was doing a Porsche a week giveaway for the summer.

Twelve 944's.

The deal was they would play one note of a song and if you were the 10th caller and got it right you were in for that weeks giveaway so the number of people eligible each week varied.

I managed to be caller 10 one day and got it right so I was in for that week.

A valid license was required to claim the prize, something I did not posses at the time, long story, so my boss and I made a deal. He was driving a DeLorean and wanted a 308. He would claim the prize in his name, give me the DeLorean and use the 944 as a down payment on the 308.

So that weekend he picks me up and we drive out to some mall in NJ where they have this big promotional set up going.

We get there, check in with the other hopefuls, 14-15 I think it was and a few hundred or so spectators and wait for our chance.

It was one of those pick a key out of a fishbowl and who evers key starts it wins things.

So I pick our key and knew right away we were not winning. My boss can see it on my face and asks "What?". I respond, "this thing would'nt start a f'n lawnmower and hold the key up for him.

It was a Porsche blank that had maybe 3 notches crudely cut with what looked like a hand file.

The other contestants around us look at their keys and you could just see their hopes vanish in an instant. One guys key was a straight blank, not even one notch in it.

Thankfully someone a couple turns in front of us won sparing us the indignity of trying to start the car in full view of everyone.

All us losers head to the Chilis type place in the mall and start drinking. We were all having a pretty good time wallowing in our shared disappointment.

Eventually "The Winner" came in. We all congratulate her and start buying her and her mom drinks.

She tells us her story. She needs several thousand dollars in dental work that she can't afford because she'd been out of work for a while. She'd exhausted her savings and was on the verge of getting evicted.

She just got a new job that she started in a week but her only transportation died meaning she had no way to get there.

She'd already made a conditional arrangement with a Chevy dealer to trade in the Porsche and get a new car that was worth less and the dealer would cover taxes / out of pocket on both the Porsche and new car.

Once we all heard her story we all cheered for her again and our own disappointment in not winning was gone.

Out of everyone there not one of us "needed" the car. We were all fine financially.

It felt right to us that it went to someone who would truly benefit from winning it.

It was honestly the best I'd ever felt while losing.

[speeder]

Plenty of winning. Went to Vegas once and hit my number in roulette twice in a row. Only bet $20 the first time, ($680 payout), but $50 the second, ($1700 payout). I was on the phone w best friend after the first win, gloating but also because he used to gamble and make a lot of $$ in Vegas. He told me, "bet on double zero" and I did and hit it.

2001 was my lucky year. I booked a TV commercial when I did not have a commercial agent and was not pursuing that line of work, (long story but car content). Actually, it happened in 2000 but payout was in 2001 and 2002. I made more for one day's "work", (it was about 2 hours and not work), than anyone in my family has ever made on a $$/time basis. It came out to about 2 new 996 turbos for 2 hours. Too bad I pissed it all away but it was fun.

The same year, I went to a big Hollywood party for the launch of Vespa when they brought them back to the U.S. market. They had a raffle and handed out tickets to everyone entering. There was a stage and bands played, maybe the Killers(?) Anyhow, at some point between bands, they had the drawing. They called out the first set of numbers and I didn't win. I thought that was it so I tossed my number on the ground. They then announced that it was time for the scooter drawing. I was sitting w a large group and my friend Adam Duritz jokingly tried to scoop up my ticket but gave it back to me. They started reading off the numbers and I won the freaking Vespa! 500 people there, almost did not attend, (total last minute thing), never won anything in my life before and now this. I bounded up on stage like a maniac w all my friends going nuts and the CEO of Piago handed me some certificate and they took pictures, etc.

I went to the dealer later and picked color, etc. Sold it w less than 10 miles on it and bought a 1970 Triumph Bonneville w proceeds that I wish I still had. I couldn't miss that year.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

I have been to 15 Porsche Parades. They have door prizes at every dinner. In 15 years the only thing I won was a kid's t-shirt and I don't have kids. Oh and some ball caps, but everyone there got a free Michelin ball cap.

I won the Exxon Valdez award at a Porsche meetup with the 101^h^h^h110 projects car

[Starless]

Nothing other than an occasional $2 or $5 on the rare occasion i buy a ticket. My wife's nephew did hit a win for life. $5000/month for life. $3501 after taxes. Oh, he was 26 at the time.

[MBAtarga]

I've won things several times over the years - most that know me call me "lucky" in regards to contests and such. It's never been a large item/amount, but in recent years I've won 2 things:
16" Delta Woodworking bandsaw at a WW show. I already had one - so sold it on the spot for $500.
A double magnum Cab at a local wine tasting event - it was the Grand Prize drawing valued at about $300. We already had dinner reservations in town that night so we paid the corkage fee and drank it with dinner.

[Toast54]

Won a $1000 on a radio station many years ago, being Nth caller after hearing a certain song and $150 on Hot Lotto couple years ago. Wife won $500 in Ford merchandise at the state fair. I got a pair of neat Thunder floormats out of THAT deal

[wdfifteen]

Boy, did I!

We have a Winner

[JavaBrewer]

Two wins in 55 years.

1. 10 free fill-ups at local 76 station (20 gallons max)
2. $500 American Airlines gift card at company holiday (Christmas) party

For some cheap dreams I indulge monthly on a lottery ticket. So that's 24 tickets over two years. I have yet to match a single number

[Jims5543]

Back when I was a newlywed in 1990 I won a car phone including the install. The way I won it was nefarious.

Another couple we were friends with invited us to Miami to go to some festivities surrounding the NBA all star game.

The husband worked in promotions for a large hip hop radio station in Miami at the time. They had an event at a hotel near the game in a banquet room where they were promising to give away fantastic prices including a rear projection big screen TV as well as numerous car phones and other items. All being done via an raffle, we all received tickets as we came in the door. Well, my wife and I declined since we were friends with someone at the station. Not for long.

The friend pulls me aside and tells me there is a problem, the company that was supposed to supply the Big Screen TV (which was oddly on display at the venue) flaked out and there was not big screen TV, even though I was looking at one on display.

He proceeds to hand me a raffle ticket and tells me that it will win the TV that does not exist and for my troubles... he hands me a second ticket to give to my wife, that one will win a car phone.

Remember this is a hip hop station, the room is 80% filled with old retired Jewish couples, I had no idea they liked 2 Live crew and DJ Magic Mike, imagine my shock.

So the raffle goes down, this old old Jewish lady wins a beach chair, she is not thrilled, as it went on many mundane prizes were won. Then they got to the good stuff, my wife wins a car phone, we were shocked we had never won a thing in our lives we were so happy!!

Then a little bit later the big ticket item is up the TV!! and guess who won? Me!! I was so excited except the old Jewish lady who won the beach chair was not happy at all and came to confront me. I do not play poker and cannot lie at all, so this was not a good thing for me.

It was like a scene out of Curb your enthusiasm this lady is throttling everyone in the room then storms out yelling it was all a scam. She did not stay for the end of the game either.

From that day on I was convinced someone at the station took that TV and was further convinced all radio give aways were rigged.

[porsche930dude]

Well theres a few that stand out in my mind. When i was 8 or so a supermarket and keebler had a cookie stacking contest and i got second place i won a shopping cart full of keebler stuff and i think 2500$ savings bond. Another time i entered a drawing into nickelodeon magazine of the throgs neck bridge. I thought it was named the frogs neck bridge and I guess they thought it was cute so i won and got to go to some nickelodeon show in nyc. Another time i was maybe 12 years old at a car show at a dealer grand opening they were giving away a corvair and a central ac unit well I got ticket # 13 and it won the ac unit. My dad claimed it for us and we didnt want it so we sold it to his boss.

[billybek]

Trip for two to Vegas including hotel and rental car.
Who gives a 22 year old guy a rental car in Vegas?
We lost the car and it took us most of the next day to find it.
That was a fun trip!
Won a few smaller things but no big paydays.

[vash]

i think my dad jinxed me.
he had a grocery store. some vendor gave him an orange bike as a raffle gift. it was orange, banana seat..it had my name all over it. i started filling out those cards. i was a tiny kid. maybe six. 8? long time ago. my dad told me i could only put in one card. i was crushed..i filled out the one and acted sad all day..

a week later, he pulled up and pulled the bike out of the car!! he said i won..sure i did. he pulled dad/owner card.

never won anything again..but that was a good one. dad had my back. i was old enough to know he just took it for me. hahha..

[stevej37]

New job at a factory in the early 70's.
First payday, played the paycheck poker game. (combo of check# and amt.)
Over 400 players @ $2 ea.....I won! (was a lot of money to me back then)
The long-timers were not as happy as I was!
Worked there a couple years..never came close to winning it again.

[R K T]

Entered our '55 356 at the Porsche Parade Concours in Ft Worth TX in '04. We went "Full Concours" and won our Class and the our Division. Fun once but never again!

Years ago I was a very serious Blackjack player. Vegas almost every other weekend and would meet my friend that I've known since we were 12. I think we both studied Blackjack more than anything in school. We would find a single deck, empty table and I would play three spots and he would play three. That way no one else could sit down and do something stupid to screw up the run of cards. We knew what each other was doing and knew when to bet big and when to bet the minimum. We were good!!
When it was time to leave we would split all the winnings 50/50.

It was very special time.

[fastfredracing]

Back when I still smoked, my wife saved all my box tops , and sent them into marlboro.
We won a week at Marlboro racing school in Homestead Florida .
It was a pretty good time, they treated us like gold, and we ran 3 different cars for the week.
Autocrossed new mustang gt's , then winston cup cars, then forumula fords .
It was back when I was autocrossing regularly, and my claim to fame, is that I beat the entire group of people, about 75 of them at the autocross venue, including all of their instructors . 2 of them were some mid level forumla car racers from south america. I was pretty pumped about that . Steak and lobster every day and we stayed and in the Biltmore., They took us on a cruise after the week was over. We then took our prize money, and spent the second week in key west . I had no money at that time in my life, so this was a big deal for us .
Other than that, I am not very lucky. I never gamble

[wdfifteen]

That was a great story Scott.

I did win our local autocross championship back in the '70s. In those days a lowered, Z-barred Porsche Speedster with a hot rod 912 engine was no big deal. Now it's blasphemy.

[speeder]

Most of us won the lottery the day we were born healthy in the modern age in the western world.

[svandamme]

once won a week of skying in the French Alps, ski pas and lodging , just had to get there myself and pay for my liquids and solids

[Toast54]

Originally Posted by speeder

Most of us won the lottery the day we were born healthy in the modern age in the western world.

On that note, 11 years ago I had 99% occlusion of the left anterior descending(widowmaker) artery.
Doc said I was among the lucky 10% to survive that much blockage, so I suppose I did win the lottery a second time. First was the wife.

[AFC-911]

I won a grill and a bike at a Cardinals Spring Training game when I was in elementary school. (free tickets, I might add)