DAY 3

Saturday, July 8th

There was a late start to the day because we had brunch instead of the traditional banquet dinner. (I am not sure when the conventions switched formats as I missed attending for several years, but it was also a brunch last year. I believe it has changed due to the cost of the meals and the priority to spend the funds on prizing versus food.)

As it was a late start, Christi Rechtsteiner held a meeting for all the ‘SweepSheeters‘ before the Saturday session began. I tried to attend but got lost as I couldn’t find the room. Somehow I didn’t realize it was in an entirely different building. Oh well. At dinner that evening, she told me it went well.

After brunch, the fun began. Tom Cavalli of iWinContests, as MC, began by telling a story about sweepstakes odds involving the mystery envelope winner. It turned out that it was a magic trick that involved perfect timing. And Tom was amazing. It was brilliant because, as he told the story, we didn’t realize it was a trick until the end.

The first speaker of the day was Todd Rumsey. He has won a total of 74 trips, and he highlighted his best tips along with the story of his first trip win. Todd has a sharp sense of humor, so the tale was hilarious. He also outlined why most people don’t enter sweepstakes. They believe no one wins, and it’s a scam. Todd had won a luxury trip for two; the whole trip, they were waiting to get scammed or pay for something. They were shocked when they checked out to go home, and the itemized bill was zero.

Then Hans Poschman spoke about a trip of a lifetime. It’s one of the three types of prizes people can win. You can win prizes that enhance your budget, such as gift cards, prize packs, swag, etc., prizes that are not in your budget, such as new appliances, trips, cars, etc., and prizes money can’t buy. (Well, it can, but for only a few.) Hans won a VIP MGM Rewards trip to an Usher concert. They had luxury treatment, from being picked up in a limo, to champagne, to riding in a private jet with Usher to the show. Truly a once in a lifetime adventure.

Even though he wasn’t in attendance, Steve d’Adolf held his annual caption contest. The contest was included in the welcome packages. You had until the end of Friday’s session to drop your entry into the box. They were all scanned and sent to Steve for judging. Michelle Schultz won with this entry.

 

Then the slew of prize draws began. There were the donation prizes, vendor draws, lucky prize packs, state prize packs, and session prizes, followed by all the upgrade draws, stamps, gift cards, lottery scratchers, and $500, $1500, and $5000 cash prizes. I finally won!! I received one of the state prize packs and a Fitbit.

After all the excitement and a break by the pool, Christi and I took out our winners, Maggie and Romona, to dinner. We enjoyed an Italian dinner at Pubblico Italian Eatery across the street from the hotel.

Go to my Facebook page for the full 34th Annual National Sweepstakes Convention photo album. If you want to contribute any pictures, please email them to me.

You can find a current convention list on my website if you want to attend an event.

Continue to Day 4.