The 37th Annual National Sweepstakes Convention was held in Scottsdale, Arizona, for the fourth time. It was first hosted here in 2006, the second convention I ever attended. It was also here in 2021 and 2023. 

Day 1 — Tuesday, July 7th

I have learned that I always like to arrive early and leave late, giving me more time to enjoy the destination city and avoid feeling rushed.

As Wendy and I attend almost every convention together, we coordinated our flights. When we arrived at the resort, we discovered our room wasn’t ready. My cellphone told me it was 40°C. WOW!

As I brought heaps of chocolate to give away, the manager kindly kept my suitcases in his office as our room wasn’t ready yet.

Then off we went for a treat we could only enjoy in certain locations. In-N-Out Burger. Then,

 it wouldn’t be a convention without a stop at Trader Joe’s for snacks and continental breakfast items. 

Although the Kimpton Miralina Resort has been renovated, only half the resort has been completed. We were in the unrenovated section. The pool in our section was blocked off, but we had access via our back patio.

As I had heaps of Panera Bread gift cards, both gifted and won, we were off for a light dinner to-go. We ate in the room while we watched part of an old movie.

Normally, I live-stream the first day unpacking my suitcases and packing up prize packs, but due to the time zone change, we needed sleep.

Day 2 — Wednesday, July 8th

Of course, I woke up at 4:00 AM as I am an East Coast girl. Not to waste the quiet, I wrote another chapter for Prizes, Prizes, Everywhere! Then I met Lori, Marie, and Mary Ellen at the restaurant for breakfast while Wendy slept in.

When I got back, I was fresh and ready to start organizing all my prize donations. It was a bigger task than I anticipated. I went live and had to stop mid-sorting (Watch the insanity on YouTube.) because 

I was teaching a mini version of WINeuvers for WISHcraft 2.0. 

The thing about manifesting and the Law of Attraction is that many people think it’s like asking a Genie to grant three wishes. It’s not. It’s about getting out of your own way. Removing limiting beliefs. I saw that happen before my eyes.

Christine’s phone rang during the workshop. Normally, that would be rude, but no one turns their phones off at a sweepstakes convention. She apologized and stated that all she gets are spam calls. She never answers them. I told her to answer all calls; if it is spam, ask them to take her off the list, hang

 up, and block the number. Yes, it’s like a Whack-A-Mole game, but you never want to miss a winning call. I continued to teach. Her phone rang again. She said it was from an unknown number. The whole room said, “Answer it!” Christine did. Looked concerned and left the room. I thought there was a family emergency.  When she walked back into the room, she was shaking. I expected bad news. Then she said quietly, in disbelief, “I just won $5,000.” She removed her belief that all calls were spam, and the next one wasn’t. It really is that simple.

I had enough time to head to the Good Vibes Hub to buy extra raffle tickets and see my friends. (Watch Christine telling us exactly what she won.) Then, I came back to the room and finished sorting out my prize packs. I brought 125lbs of prizes in my suitcases. I underestimated how long it would take to sort out the mess. It took me another two hours. 

Wendy and I then enjoyed a dip in the pool before heading out for a BBQ dinner. 

Day 3 — Thursday, July 9th

Another early morning as I woke up at 5:00 AM. I began to blog about the trip as I wanted

When Wendy got up, we went to the Good Vibes Hub to donate all the State, Foodie, and Holiday prizes we brought. (For each $5 of each theme you brought, you got a ticket. I had seven State, three Holiday, and three Foodie entries.) Then I went to enter all my Pick-A-Prize tickets.

As we had a free afternoon, we went out for lunch and more shopping. It was so hot when we got back that we went straight to the pool. I had intended to continue blogging, but I made videos instead to share the excitement from Arizona. As the room ran out of tea bags, I went to the lobby. It was filled with sweepers for the resort’s Happy Hour. A glass of wine in hand, I stood around chatting until I had to get ready for the Meet & Greet. 

While milling about, Larry asked me about the mini dumpster fire he found and asked me what the prize was. I had no idea as I wasn’t the culprit. (For the full story, see my posts on Instagram. It’s Not Me! and The Guilty Party!) 

The Meet & Greet is the kick-off event for the convention. There were snacks on the tables and new friends to be made while all the Pick-A-Prizes were given out. Most are re-prizes. Items sweepers won and didn’t want or couldn’t use. There are only so many coolers one can keep. 

Tom Cavalli of iWinContests was our MC and got the first official day of the convention off with a bang by announcing the Pick-A-Prize winners. Wendy won three prizes, all from one ticket each. It really only takes one to win. Then we headed out for a late BBQ dinner. The time change and all the excitement really threw normal schedules out the window. Then to bed, as it felt very late to me.

Day 4 — Friday, July 10th

Tom was back, announcing that several car winners from the Enterprise FIFA sweepstakes were attending the convention. Four when we started, six by Sunday evening. AMAZING! 

We also had more speakers than the previous year, which was fantastic because it really allowed us to learn about a wide variety of topics. This is the benefit of attending. Although I share highlights here, that’s all they are: highlights. To garner the full benefit of what we learn, you have to attend.

Chris Richstiener of SweepSheet spoke on AI, what it was, and how it was affecting the hobby, along with what sweepers can do to understand how best to use it. Chris’ number one tip was the same as mine. Read the sweepstakes rules, especially with creative contests, because some say not to use AI and others say to use AI. You do not want to make a mistake that would disqualify you.

Then, to keep up our energy, we all received a snack pack.

Theresa Heino was next, speaking about Online Security and how to stay safe while winning. It’s such an important topic, I even include a Stay Safe chapter in all of my sweepstakes books. I was happy to hear she recommended something I do every day: turning off my computer. So should you. Theresa also shared that we need to create strong passwords. It’s why I use RoboForm: it can encrypt them in the cloud. (Get 30% off if you are a new RoboForm user.)

It was time for prizes. Wendy won the very first prize, and it was one of my prize packs. The one with the huge bag, which was exactly the same as the one I gifted her. She also gave me back my book because if you watched my packing livestream, you would have seen that one was printed upside down, so at least I now have an author copy.

I won a pack of postcards and Forever stamps. I sent out three postcards and gave the rest to Wendy, as I can’t use them in Canada.

Then it was time for lunch, and we found a brunch spot not too far from the hotel called Butters. 

The first speaker of the afternoon was Lori Johnston, who spoke about RoboForm and how to use it. Her speech perfectly dovetailed with Theresa’s. She spoke about the program’s top 10 features, and RoboForm generously gave her 10 licenses as additional prizes.

Mike Stavros was up next, teaching us about the Odds of Winning. He showed us how it was basically math and how we could calculate the odds ourselves. If math isn’t your strong suit, you can use AI. If you have Google, Gemini is free for you to use.

Tom Cavalli of iWinContests spoke about Expecting to Win. It’s amazing how many people enter sweepstakes and only hope to win. For example, he prebooks hotel stays at sporting events to ensure he has a room, as he expects to win tickets. If he wins a full trip, he can cancel the room. (Read his article Expect to Win on my blog.) Tom is also blessed to have made many real friends in the sweepstakes community who invite him along as a plus-one. (I frequently say the best part of the hobby is the people!) 

Finally, Hans Poschman spoke. The first slide was The Tax Implications of Winning Sweepstakes. NOPE! The Second slide was his real speech. Winning Sweepstakes: 30 Trips in 10 Years. WOW! A common thread amongst the speakers was to always read the rules, because that’s when you find the clauses that stop most people from entering or that disqualify them. If you follow the rules, you can win and win big. His three tips were what I recommend because they work:

  1. Be organized. He uses a spreadsheet.
  2. Be Consistent. He enters at 7:00 AM.
  3. Keep a secret. Helene Hadsell teaches this. “No braggin’ before baggin’.”

Of course, there were more prizes! I won a printer, which is perfect as I had been thinking I needed another one for my portable office set-up. As I gave out so many prizes, it was easy to bring them home.

We had time to rest and swim before BINGO at 7:00 PM. Shonda Yonst was our MC (you may remember her as the lead volunteer from last year’s convention in Little Rock, Arkansas), and Nancy was our caller. Wendy and I each had three sheets of three. There were five games in total. We were so close on many boards but didn’t win. Thankfully, we had fun.

Even though it was late, we wanted to eat, so we went to White Castle. I love eating at restaurants or fast food places we don’t have in Canada, as it always feels like a treat.

Read Part 2 for more exciting adventures!

Enjoy my photo album on Facebook.