I wanted to write this post to address some of the comments I received regarding my post, You Can’t Win On Cue, plus the hundreds I have seen in various groups and forums about the TV show.

Of course, every win filmed for High Stakes Sweepers was recreated! It wasn’t faked, just recreated. Every prize shown, plus many that weren’t, were real prizes won by the show participants. Just not at the moment, the cameras were there. Unfortunately, because no one can win on cue, they also didn’t capture the actual excitement, fun, or screaming that occurs when a real winning notification arrives.

Reality: I got a phone call notifying me that I had won the baby shower.  I think I hurt the poor man’s ears at the other end of the phone. I yelled so loud.

Recreated: I doctored a winning letter that I could pull out of my mailbox. Then I had to jump up and down and scream about 10 times, retake after retake, on the hottest day of the year while all the neighbors hung around and watched.

Plus, if I could win on cue, I wouldn’t need to work for a living. I would win whatever I wished, whenever I wished. But, what fun is there in that?! I like finding new contests, dreaming about the prize as I enter, and thinking about what it would be like to win. Then, when a winning notification does arrive (or better yet, a surPRIZE appears in the mailbox), it’s very exciting. That’s what makes this hobby fun and addictive.

I call it “Contest Crack: one win and you’re hooked!”.